The undefeated streak continues for the Bob Jones University women's soccer team after they rallied to a 2-2 draw at Asbury University on Wednesday.
"Asbury was a challenging opponent, especially as our third game in three days," said midfielder Rylee Johnson. "I'm proud of the team for holding onto our undefeated streak and comeback after we got down twice."
Facing Asbury University for the first time, the Bruins looked to come out strong, but three days of back-to-back-to-back competition took its toll as the Bruins struggled in today's match in Wilmore, Kentucky.
The Bruins went down early after Asbury's shot fired over the head of BJU goalkeeper Margaret Cummings. Despite not playing up to their normal standards in the first half, the Bruins were able to equalize the game in the 31st minute from a rocket by Gabriela Gonzalez. The tie held for just over 10 minutes until Margaret Cummings fouled an Eagles player trying to stop goal-scoring opportunity. Asbury went to the line to and converted on the penalty kick to regain their lead.
"We really struggled in the first half and were sluggish and completely disorganized," said Head Coach Chris Carmichael. "Technically we broke down too often and literally were chasing the game against a very organized Asbury team. After going down 1-0 the work rate increased during the latter part of the first half and Gaby Gonzalez was able to beat the defense and hit the back of the net with a golazo of a goal to equalize the game. But the tactical mistakes we were making earlier in the first half caught us again and Asbury notched their second goal on a pk."
After halftime the team came back on the field possessing a lot better and creating goal-scoring chances after changing their system of play. The continued to work hard and in the 75th minute, Mia Marks intercepted a pass in the Eagles defensive zone and sailed the ball into the back of the net to equalize the game once again.
The Bruins held on through the last 15 minutes to finish with a 2-2 draw against Asbury University and see a 5-0-5 season record.
Following the game, Coach Carmichael highlighted Margaret Cummings' game saying, "we had another spectacular performance by Margaret Cummings. She's a perfectionist and took the two goals personally when they were the fault of field players and shots that would have been nearly impossible to save including a well hit penalty kick. But she came back in the second half with determination and refocused and made several unbelievable saves to keep us in the game and no doubt saved our tie."
"Even when we weren't playing our best they never quit and just kept working harder to get things back on track," said Carmichael. "To go down twice in the same game and to have to keep crawling back to equalize the game is a very difficult task, and I am extremely proud of the resiliency and determination of this team to never give up and to work hard to the end to make things work. The team should be very proud of the way they fixed the second half to end on a positive note. No doubt playing four games in five days took its toll today and was likely a big contributor to the technical problems we were having. We look forward to giving the players some quality rest through the weekend so we can come back strong next week."
The Bruins will get a well deserved break and will be back at home next Tuesday for a match against Greensboro College.
