A goal in the second half proved to be the difference on Monday night as Piedmont College edged the Bruins 1-0 at Alumni Stadium. With the loss, the Lady Bruins fall to 10-7 on the season.
"I was very happy with how we played," Bruins Head Coach Chris Carmichael said. "Obviously, we wanted a different result, but we were able to create chances to score and Piedmont is always a great team. We'll take a lot from this game and again we feel pretty good about our effort tonight."
The Bruins came into the match having won back to back games over Brevard College and Johnson University (TN). They knew they would be in for a tough matchup as they faced the Lions who entered Monday's game having won five of their last six games.
In the opening minutes, the Lions were able to work the ball into the attacking third and opened up lanes on net. Kristyn Rygh and Jennifer Townsend did a great job defensively in tracking players and preventing shots on goal.
Offensively, the Bruins were able to create several chances of their own as Jenna Bishop and Kayle Stevenson helped thread passes ahead. Still, the Bruins and Lions couldn't seem to find the back of the net as both teams ended the first half as they began it tied 0-0.
As the second half began, both teams knew the first goal would likely be the only one. The Lions and Bruins traded scoring chances with the Bruins able to get several golden opportunities in front of the net. Bailey Martin and Kayle Stevenson each had scoring chances, but the team couldn't break through.
In the 57th minute of play, the Lions finally broke the scoreless tie as Mandy Weinhart beat Bruins' keeper Angelina Martin with a well-placed shot to put Piedmont ahead 1-0. The Bruins tried to respond as they again worked the ball into the attacking third to create scoring chances. The Lions turned aside opportunities to keep the slim margin.
With time winding down, the Bruins pushed ahead looking for the equalizer. Mikayla Rajcan and Kayle Stevenson had chances to score, but in the end, the final buzzer ended any hopes of a comeback as the Bruins fell 1-0.
"We had some point blank shots and had opportunities to score and if we had taken advantage of those it would have been a different game," Coach Carmichael said. "That's the game of soccer though in that it often is low scoring and you have to take advantage of those opportunities. We'll get better from this and look forward to building on this as we head into Saturday."
The Bruins out shot the Lions 21-12 in the game including an 11-6 on goal margin. Angelina Martin made 5 saves on the night for the Bruins as the team played their final home game of the regular season. Next up, the Bruins will wrap up the regular season of play on Saturday as they face Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, North Carolina.
