The Bruins had a hard-fought game tonight pulling away with their first win of the season against the Erskine College Flying Fleet 3-2, with all three goals coming in the first half. With the first victory in the win column, they now stand at 1-2-1 on the season.
"I'm happy for the team. We got the result, and we have a lot to build on and work on," said Head Coach Greg Fulton. "Getting the result matters. How we get the result also matters, and I think we won one of those two categories tonight. We are thrilled with the result and we'll keep building on that, but part of what we'll build on is how we win these games and how to play against this type of competition."
The first half gave way to a flurry of shots and goal opportunities for the Bruins. With 11 shots in the half, just three found their way to the back of the net. Bryce Ramler started the scoring tonight putting away his first goal of the season in the 19
th minute. Just a minute later, Jake Provenzano also scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-0.
Though the Fleet had minimal offensive pressure in the first half, they rewarded a penalty kick in the 25
th minute. The Fleet's Gustavo Avina got it past Bruins keeper Cameron Braswell to make it 2-1. The Bruins responded quickly in the 30
th minute when Asher Aurednik also scored his first goal of the season to make it 3-1 which held until halftime.
Three first-goal scorers highlighted the half for the Bruins.
Erskine came out in the second half with much more offensive pressure, but Braswell held his line making a few key saves to keep the Bruins leading. The half contained lots of possession by the Bruins with a few breakaway opportunities for the Fleet. Hudson Lewis sneaked a goal late in the 88
th minute to threaten a late comeback for Erskine, but the Bruins came out with a win.
The second half also saw a limited-minute return from Mario Figueroa. He will provide the Bruins with more control, goal-scoring, and experience going forward.
"After halftime we made a switch. I didn't want any long balls over the top which is where we found most of our chances in the first half," said Fulton. "We have to learn how to play through teams, not just over top of them because really good teams will punish us if that's the only attack we have. That adjustment favored Erskine's style, and we found it difficult to capitalize on that."
Missing from the field tonight was forward Hodari Twishime whose father passed away earlier today. Along with a pregame moment of silence, the men's team sported blue bands around their arms and wrists tonight in support of their teammate who is away with his family.
"We hurt with him, and wearing the armbands was a way for us to remember him while we were out on the field doing the thing he loves to do," said Fulton. "Hodari knows we're praying for him, and we can't wait to have him back with us."
The Bruins look to keep this winning momentum going Saturday at 7 p.m. at Alumni Stadium against Pfeiffer University.
