The Lady Bruins struck first, but the team couldn't hold the lead as Brewton-Parker College rallied with two goals to win 2-1 on Tuesday afternoon in Lyons, Georgia. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 4-6 on the season.
"It was a tough loss today," Bruins Head Coach Chris Carmichael said. "We started off strong and created several scoring opportunities. We had good rhythm to start and then fell off the tracks a bit and had a hard time dealing with their pressure. Brewton-Parker played a great game and as always worked extremely hard."
The Bruins came into the match on the heels of back to back road matches on Friday and Saturday. The Bruins shutout Carolina University on Friday night before falling to Erskine College on Saturday. Earlier this season, the Bruins had shutout Brewton-Parker College 2-0 in Greenville thanks to goals by Brinkley Adams and Mia Marks.
Under a warm Georgia sky, the Bruins and Barons took the pitch. The Bruins would be shorthanded in the match as starters Gabriela Gonzalez and Kayle Stevenson were sidelined with injury.
In the opening minutes, the Bruins came out strong with good possession and pace of play. The Bruins got an early corner kick opportunity and made the most of it as Jenna Bishop had a great set piece which found the feet of Hannah Johnston who scored to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the match.
The Barons came right back as they looked to equalize. Angelina Martin stood strong to make saves for the Bruins but the Barons continued to pressure the net. With just 12 minutes remaining in the half, the Barons drew even as Aamya Moville scored to tie the match at 1-1. Both teams had shots down the stretch but the halftime buzzer signaled the end of the first half with the score tied 1-1.
In the second half, the Bruins and Barons came out with each looking to nab the go-ahead goal. The Barons would find that goal early on in the half as Jaryn Paley scored on a well-placed shot to put BPC up 2-1 just over seven minutes into the half.
The Bruins found themselves playing from behind and looked to advance the ball into the attacking third. The Barons continued to pressure the Bruins defensively and won several key one on one battles to take possession and keep the lead.
In the closing moments, the Bruins tried to mount one last push to equalize but the Barons turned aside the opportunity as the buzzer sounded to hand the Bruins a 2-1 road loss.
"We have to do better technically and tactically but ultimately this is totally on me," Coach Carmichael said. "As tough as the losses are they always make us better individually and collectively. We are blessed to play and I look forward to seeing how the team responds over the next few games."
The Bruins were out shot 10-6 in the match and were edged 5-4 in the on goal shot margin. Hannah Johnston scored her second goal of the 2020 season while Angelina Martin made three saves for the Bruins in the loss.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road again on Friday evening as they face Johnson University (TN) in Knoxville, Tennessee. Kickoff for the match is slated for 4 p.m.
