The Bob Jones University men's soccer team has earned their third straight NCCAA DII South Region championship title as the Bruins defeated the Pensacola Christian College Eagles 3-2 down in Jacksonville, Florida. With today's win, the Bruins have earned a spot in the NCCAA National Tournament to be held mid-November in Kissimmee, Florida.
"It is always a great day when we win a final, especially against a rival," said Head Coach Greg Fulton. "We knew it would be a battle and our team came up big in big moments. It was far from perfect but for today we simply celebrate earning our ticket to the national tournament and winning our third regional tournament in a row!"
On Wednesday, the top-seeded Bruins came away with a decisive 4-0 win over #4 Trinity Baptist College in the semifinals of the south region tournament. Pensacola, the number two seed, picked off #3 Johnson University (FL) with a 2-0 win to advance to the championship match.
Today marked the 10th time the Bruins and Eagles have faced off in program history. The two squads met earlier this season at Alumni Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina where the Bruins snuck by with a 1-0 win.
As today's game got underway, it was the Bruins who got on the score sheet first as Rylan Boldt passed the ball towards Mario Figueroa who made a diving effort to get the ball past the Eagles' goalkeeper just 4 minutes in.
Bob Jones held onto their lead until the 22nd minute when the Eagles tied it up.
As the first half began winding down, both teams continued to battle looking for the go-ahead goal. With just under five minutes remaining, the ball went out of bounds on the Eagles and as Peter Waddy threw the ball to Victor Muenapale, Muenapale danced through the Eagles' defense and sent the ball into the back of the net to give the Bruins the 2-1 lead.
After the break and in the 54th minute, the Bruins extended their lead to 3-1 as Dallas Albert sailed the ball up the field to Conley Burk who settled it and shot the ball into the goal. Just five minutes later, PCC got one back as the Eagles sent the ball soaring over goalkeeper Chris Monczewski to close the gap and bring the score to 3-2. The Bruins continued firing towards the Eagles' net, but as the final whistle blew the Bruins came out victorious to earn their third NCCAA DII South Region Championship in program history.
"We give the Glory to God, who gives us the bodies and minds to play," said Fulton. "Ultimately it is a step in our journey and message right now is 'job not done.'"
The Bruins will head into the NCCAA DII National Tournament with a winning 12-4-1 record and undefeated in region play. More tournament information will be posted at
bjubruins.com as we get closer to the national tournament.
