The Bruins women's soccer team found themselves in an early hole on Saturday afternoon and the team couldn't recover as they fell to Erskine College 3-0 in Due West, South Carolina. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 4-5 on the year.
"Today was a tough day for us on many fronts," Bruins Head Coach Chris Carmichael said. "We just didn't have the energy we had at our game last night and have had too many injuries to key players which didn't allow us to get into a rhythm of play. Erskine definitely deserved to win this game and this will not define who we are or our season."
The Bruins came into the match less than 24 hours after winning 4-0 in a road match over Carolina University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Bruins scored three first half goals in the win.
Last season, the Bruins and Flying Fleet met in Greenville with Erskine scoring a pair of goals late in the second half to grab a 2-1 win at Alumni Stadium. The two teams took the pitch on Saturday afternoon under a warm fall sky.
It didn't take long for Erskine to get on the board as Grace Attaway punched home a shot just over three minutes into the match to put the Flying Fleet up 1-0. The Bruins were back on their heels and struggled to sustain their possession.
In the 21st minute of play, the Flying Fleet added to their lead as Katie Cauble scored to make it 2-0. The Bruins tried to find an answer but the Fleet defense stood strong to turn aside opportunities. As a result, the Bruins trailed 2-0 at the half.
As the second half began, the Bruins came out looking to cut into the lead. Instead, another quick strike goal by the Flying Fleet pushed the lead to 3-0 less than five minutes into the second half.
The Bruins came back looking to counter, but shots were few and far between for the Bruins as they just couldn't sustain their possession in the offensive end. Despite a hard fought match, the Bruins couldn't find the back of the net as they fell 3-0 in a road loss to Erskine College.
"We just couldn't get anything going today," Coach Carmichael said. "We just need to get some recovery as we move into the last games of the regular season. We have our work cut out for us to get another winning season but I also believe in this team and I know they will keep working hard to meet our goals."
The Bruins were outshot 14-4 in the match including an 9-1 margin on goal. Angelina Martin made six saves for the Bruins in the match. Next up, the Bruins will be on the road again on Tuesday as they face Brewton-Parker College in Lyons, Georgia.
