After a hard-fought game, the women's soccer team saw its 2022 season come to an end with a 1-0 loss to Oakland City University Tuesday night in their second game of pool play at the NCCAA DI National Tournament in Kissimmee, Florida. The Bruins finished the year with a 14-7-1 record. With today's loss, the Bruins have been eliminated from national championship contention.
"I couldn't be more proud of our team. The team stepped up and played their hearts out this tournament," said Head Coach Chris Carmichael. "We knew it was going to be another gutsy match. Oakland City is a very physical and strong team, and we knew we were going to have our work cut out for us."
The #7 seeded Bruins came into Wednesday's match on the heels of a 6-2 loss to Trinity Christian College Monday night. Their opponent, #4 Oakland City University was prepared to play their first match of the tournament. In order to see a chance of advancing out of pool play, the Bruins would need a big win over the Mighty Oaks.
From kickoff, Oakland City University sent a couple good shots on goal. After a few minutes, the Bruins seemed to get in a better rhythm as they battled for possession hunting for the first goal of the game.
With 19 minutes remaining in the first half, the Mighty Oaks earned a corner kick. As they sailed the ball on frame, goalkeeper Esther Young and the Bruins defense looked to get it away from the net, but the ref signaled that the ball had crossed over the line giving Oakland City the 1-0 lead.
Oakland City looked to increase their lead with five minutes left before halftime as Alana Doherty went 1v1 with Esther Young. Young came out to make the huge stop and the defense took care of the rebound to keep the score 1-0.
The Mighty Oaks came out firing in the second half, peppering the goal with 14 shots after the break. While the Bruins only saw five shots in final half, they still battled hard to move the ball forward.
With just over five minutes left in the match, Mia Marks was taken down inside the Might Oaks' box earning the Bruins a penalty kick. Kayle Stevenson stepped to the spot to take the pk. As she looked to even the score, the ball went just wide hitting the far goalpost.
It was a hard fought match but the with the 1-0 loss, the Bruins saw their time at the NCCAA DI National Tournament and season come to an end.
"We're now looking forward to the spring as we can get some recovery now," said Carmichael. "I am also so proud of our seniors. They've meant a lot to us and we're appreciative of the footprint they've left on our program."
