After 90 minutes of play, the Bruins prevailed over NCAA DII Conference Carolinas Champion Converse University with a 1-0 victory Tuesday night from Alumni Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina.
"I'm extremely proud of how the team battled tonight," said Head Coach Greg Fulton. "It wasn't beautiful. We made mistakes. They had chances, but our team needed to go through that kind of gauntlet to know what they are capable of. We're entering the second half of our season on a high note."
The Bruins came into the new week 7-3-1 on the year after a big 5-1 Homecoming victory over Emory & Henry College on Saturday. On the other side of the field, Converse University made their way from Spartanburg to Greenville with a 6-3-1 record.
Tuesday marked the third matchup between the Bruins and Valkyries with Valkyries owning the 2-0 series record.
As today's game got underway from Alumni Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina, it was quick paced but without too many looks on goal. In the 30th minute, the Bruins saw their best chance of the game so far as Asher Aurednik raced up the far side of the field where he collected the ball and passed it in front of the goal where Rylan Boldt was wide open. Boldt's touch went just wide of the goal.Â
Throughout the first half, Bruins goalkeeper Cameron Braswell made several heads up plays to keep the ball out of the back of his net and keep the Bruins in the game.
At halftime, the score remained deadlocked at zero.
The second half started out with Converse looking to gain control early. The Valkyries made several valiant efforts to score, but the Bruins defense and goalkeeper made some big defensive stops to keep the score level at zero.
As the time began ticking down, the Bruins looked to take advantage of any chance they received. With just seven minutes left in the contest, Asher Aurednik charged down the field on the attack and beat out a Converse defender as he continued towards the goal. The Converse goalkeeper touched the ball away, but Aurednik collected the ball again and rolled it towards Sandro Martinez who's shot went past the keeper to score the game-winning goal and put the Bruins ahead 1-0.Â
The Bruins held on through the final minutes to pick up their first goal and first win against Converse University. With today's result, the Bruins have improved to 8-3-1 on the season. Converse out shot the Bruins 17 to four with the Bruins making seven saves to stay in the game.Â
Up next, the Bruins travel to Pensacola, Florida to face Pensacola Christian College in a crucial NCCAA South Region matchup on Saturday.
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