The Bruins soccer team had a statement win on Thursday night in the semifinal match of the NCCAA DII South Regional tournament as the team defeated #2 seeded Johnson University (FL) 7-1. With the win, the Bruins advance to the region championship match on Saturday.
"Our guys stayed connected throughout the match with several different guys scoring goals," Bruins Head Coach Matt Hotchkin said after the dominant performance. "That was a huge confidence boost for us going into Saturday. The guys handled the rainy conditions well. We want to thank Piedmont College for allowing us to use the field due to the conditions and also for our fans who made the trip to support us."
The Bruins came into the regional tournament as the #3 seed. Earlier this season, the Bruins and Suns met at Alumni Stadium with the Bruins rallying late in the match to win 2-1. Due to weather, the match was moved to Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia, to take advantage of the turf playing surface. The Suns and Bruins took the pitch with a trip to the region championship on the line.
In the opening minutes, the Bruins came out strong as they possessed well to create scoring chances on frame. The team was able to keep the ball in the attacking third early on with several shots sailing just wide.
The Bruins finally broke into the scoring column in the 20th minute as Nick Lewis bent a beautiful shot into the back of the net for his first goal of the season to put the team up 1-0. The Bruins went right back to work as they continued to pressure the Suns and regain possession.
Jesse Rush extended the Bruins lead as he took advantage of open space and drilled a shot from outside the box to put the team up 2-0. The Bruins got another opportunity just minutes later as David Dume was fouled in the box garnering a PK. Dume confidently took the penalty as he scored to make it 3-0.
With the half coming to a close, the Bruins looked to carry their lead into the break. Rush had other plans as the senior scored his second goal of the half with just over twenty seconds remaining to give the Bruins a 4-0 lead.
In the second half, the Bruins again came out with great urgency right from the opening whistle. David Dume took advantage of a defensive lapse by the Suns as he scored his second goal of the contest to increase the lead 5-0 just two minutes into the half.
The Bruins were relentless in chasing after balls and extending possession with crisp passing and good ball movement. The Suns couldn't find an answer to stop them as Gasheed Lareche added to the lead with a goal to make it 6-0.
Although the Bruins had a commanding lead, the team continued to push ahead and create scoring chances. Victor Oladipo got into the scoring column as he scored off an assist from Gasheed Lareche to make it 7-0.
The Suns were able to prevent the shutout as they took advantage of a broken play to free Wilfred Gineris who scored to make it 7-1. The Suns got another scoring opportunity near the end of the half as a foul awarded JU-FL a PK. Christian Dickerson took the penalty for the Suns but his shot went off the post and the rebound opportunity was shot over the net. As the final buzzer sounded, the Bruins celebrated a dominant 7-1 win over Johnson University (FL) to advance to the region final.
Jesse Rush and David Dume each had a pair of goals for the Bruins while Gasheed Lareche picked up a goal and an assist in the win. Isaac Landry made three saves for the Bruins while the team out shot the Suns 26-9 in the match.
With the win, the Bruins advance to the NCCAA DII South Region Championship for the first time since the 2016 season. The team will face #1 seeded Pensacola Christian College on Saturday with kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
