The women's soccer team saw its record-breaking season come to an end with a 6-0 lss to Ottawa University Arizona Wednesday night in their second game of pool play at the NCCAA DI National Tournament in Kissimmee, Florida. The Bruins finished the 2021 season 18-4-1, their best in program history. With today's loss, the Bruins have been eliminated from national championship contention.
"Unfortunately we didn't get the results we wanted in this tournament, but I couldn't be more blessed and am extremely proud of how our team conducted themselves in what were very difficult situations," said Head Coach Chris Carmichael. "Today's loss doesn't define who we are nor does it negate the great accomplishments we had this season. We have an amazing group of players that truly embrace what it means to be Christian student-athletes. Their behavior has always been outstanding, and I wouldn't want any other team. We leave this tournament with our heads held high as we were given a great opportunity to compete at this DI tournament and will learn and grow from the experience."
The #4 seeded Bruins came into Wednesday's match on the heels of a crushing overtime loss to Oakland City University. Their opponent, #3 Ottawa University had a day to rest and recover after a 6-1 victory against Oakland City on Monday. The Bruins needed a big victory over the Spirit in order to advance out of pool play.
From kickoff, both teams would look to gain possession, but it was Ottawa who got to a quick start as they scored back to back goals just 7 minutes in. The Bruins looked to regroup after the first goals, but the Spirit would get on the board once again in the first half to bring the score 3-0 in favor of Ottawa going into halftime.
The attack was strong for the Ottawa side in the second half as they scored three more times to bring the final score to 6-0.
Despite tonight's scoreline, the 2021 season was the best in the 10-year program history for the Bruins seeing a 18-4-1 record overall. Starting September 7, the Bruins went on a 16 game winning streak and ended the regular season with 17 straight games without a loss. With only three seniors on the roster, the team will return a core group of players to next years lineup as the team will look to content for a national title once again.
"We know we have to be better and to that end we will continue to keep on keeping on!"
