After suffering a tough loss on Monday night, the Bruins women's soccer team stormed back in a big way as the team defeated their region-rival Toccoa Falls College 4-0 at Alumni Stadium. With the win, the Bruins improve to 8-5 on the season.
"We needed to get some of our patience and composure back and go back to a strong possession game which I thought we did a good job of tonight," Bruins Head Coach Chris Carmichael said. "We also were able to get a lot of good minutes out of some players which will help us as we move forward this season."
The Bruins came out with urgency as the match began as they possessed well and used good passing to create scoring chances. Early on, the Bruins were able to fire several shots on frame but those shots sailed wide or were saved by Eagles' keeper Katie Kratochvil.
In the 12th minute of play, Mikayla Rajcan opened the scoring for the Bruins as she slide to steal the ball and ended up punching in a goal to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. The team wasn't done as they continued to pressure the Eagles outshooting Toccoa Falls 19-1 in the opening half. Still, the Bruins only held a 1-0 lead as the first half came to a close.
As the Bruins came out in the second half, the team was looking to increase their lead. It didn't take long as Kayle Stevenson notched her team-leading fifth goal of the season off an assist from Rajcan to make it 2-0.
Later on in the half, Korbyn Griffith scored on a rocket shot to give the Bruins a 3-0 advantage. The Eagles tried to answer back, but the Bruins turned aside each opportunity and possessed the ball throughout the entirety of the match.
Courtney Erickson put the exclamation point on a great all-around performance for the team as she headed in her first collegiate goal off a beautiful cross from Caitlyn Benson as the Bruins completed the shutout 4-0.
"Our possession was key for us tonight," Coach Carmichael said. "We were able to use good passing to create a lot of chances. We just have to continue to play with confidence and keep this momentum heading into Saturday."
The Bruins outshot the Eagles 45-2 in the match including an 18-0 on goal margin. Next up, the team will complete their three-game home stand on Saturday night as they welcome Covenant College for the homecoming match. It will also be senior night as the Bruins honor the seniors on the roster.
