The Bruins women's soccer team opened preseason play on Thursday night as they welcomed the Citadel Bulldogs (NCAA DI) to Alumni Stadium. While the Bruins showed flashes of brilliance in spurts throughout the match, the Bulldogs proved to be too much as BJU fell to the Citadel 5-0.
"Playing Citadel a few days into our preseason is a tough challenge but one that only helps us increase our speed of play and tactical awareness," Bruins Head Coach Chris Carmichael said. "This was a great learning experience for us. We have a long ways to go but we appreciate our opponent in helping us jumpstart our season."
The Bruins reported for preseason less than a week ago, but were ready to take the pitch and compete. With fourteen new players on the roster for the 2019 season, the team looked to build chemistry with each other against a tough opponent.
In the opening minutes, the Bulldogs went right to work as they moved the ball into the attacking third creating open looks on frame. Bruins keeper Angelina Martin came up with several great saves in the opening minutes to keep the Bulldogs off the board.
Martin made her best save of the night as a point blank shot was turned aside in the 13th minute of play. The Bulldogs continued to relentlessly pressure the net as they used crisp passing to open lanes towards the net. In the 30th minute, Logan Dix gave the Bulldogs the lead as she scored on a blistering shot in the top right corner of the net to make it 1-0.
Just minutes later, the Bulldogs added to their lead as a rebound opportunity off a corner kick was tapped home by Kate Manzione to put Citadel up 2-0. As the first half was coming to a close, weather delayed the match for over an hour as lighting in the area forced both teams to leave the field of play.
After the delay, the two teams took the pitch and finished out the first half with the score 2-0 in favor of the Citadel. The Bulldogs outshot the Bruins 23-0 in the opening half with Angelina Martin making seven saves for BJU.
In the second half, the Bruins came out looking to get something going offensively while trying the keep the Bulldogs from running away with the game. It didn't take long for the Bulldogs to add to their lead as a goal in the 47th minute from Haley Long increased the lead to 3-0.
Despite playing against a strong opponent, the Bruins refused to quit and were able to create several good sequences which turned into shots on goal. The Bulldogs would add two more goals throughout the remainder of the second half as the Bruins fell 5-0 in their opening scrimmage of preseason.
"We had moments where things looked very good and moments where we exposed some significant weaknesses. Our team is very coachable and I am confident we will be much stronger going forward."
Next up, the Bruins will round out preseason play on the road Saturday night as they visit nearby North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina. Kickoff time is set for 7 p.m.
