The Bruins men's soccer team is heading back to the NCCAA DII National Championship match after the team shutout #4 Randall University 2-0. With the win, the Bruins won their pool and will play in the championship match on Saturday.
"We knew this was going to be a tough game but we knew if we did the simple things well that we would have a good chance to win," Bruins Head Coach Greg Fulton said. "They did a great job but ultimately we were able to play well and come away with the win."
The Bruins came into the match on the heels of a 3-2 win over #5 Crown College in the opening pool play match on Tuesday. The Saints came into the matchup after notching a 1-0 win over Crown College on Wednesday. The two teams took the pitch in a rematch of last year's national championship with a trip to this year's title game on the line.
In the opening minutes, the game went back and forth with both teams exchanging chances on frame early on. The Bruins would strike first as Gasheed Lareche scored on an incredible strike to put the team up 1-0 just 15 minutes into the contest.
"Gasheed is a fantastic player and to have a guy who has been there to have that confidence to take that shot for us was a big moment in the game," Coach Fulton said.
The Saints came right back looking for the equalizer. The Bruins defense continued to stay strong and turn aside opportunities while keeper Chris Monczewski made several key saves to keep the Saints off the board. As the halftime buzzer sounded, the Bruins held a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, the match took a turn for the physical as 12 cautions were handed out in the matchup. Near the midway point of the half, a hard foul handed Randall University a second caution which forced them to play a man down in the match. After that, three additional second-yellow cautions were given to the Saints eventually dropping their player count to seven in the match.
The Bruins continued to pressure the net and extended their lead in the 77th minute as Rylan Boldt centered a pass to Conley Burk and Burk buried it in the back of the net to make it 2-0. From there, the Saints tried to rally, but the Bruins maintained possession as they went on to complete the clean sheet with a 2-0 win.
"I'm very proud of our guys," Bruins Head Coach Greg Fulton said. "This is where we wanted to be in competing for a championship. Our guys have shown incredible character in grinding our tough wins and remaining focused. It's been a tough road to get here but we're excited."
The Bruins out shot the Saints 17-7 including an 8-2 shots on goal margin. Next up, the Bruins will compete in the NCCAA DII National Championship on Saturday as the team faces #3 Grace Christian University who won the other pool.
Kickoff for the match is set for 12:30 p.m. in Kissimmee, Florida.
