The Bruins come away with a thrilling 4-3 win over the Emmanuel University Lions from a late game-winning goal by Mia Marks.
"Once again our team showed resiliency when confronted with challenges," Head Coach Chris Carmichael said. "I am so incredibly proud of every single player on our team as they put on a great show today. They just never give up and play hard to the end every single game."
The first half brought a lot of back-and-forth play that led to Lions striking first in the 18th minute. Kinsey Bishop created space and put the shot in far post past the diving Margaret Cummings. Bruin Elli Cummings was injured on the play and did not return. After the game, Coach Carmichael said this about the injury: "We are praying that Elli Cummings will be ok from her injury she sustained today at the game. She has been such a huge part of our success this season both defensively and on the attacking side and has revitalized our team with the way she has been playing." After going down 1-0, the Bruins remained poised and settled in. It was just one minute later when the Bruins responded with a goal by Francesca Peters. Then just six minutes later, Sarah Ward scored the go-ahead goal going into halftime.
During halftime, the graduating seniors, Sarah Ward, Jessica Townsend, and Abby Nelson were recognized. "The graduating players have been such a huge part of our team's success over the years and will all be sorely missed," Coach Carmichael said.
The Lions were able to tie the match again right inside the start of the second half in the 49th minute. That draw only stood for just a few minutes before a Bruins free-kick turned into an own goal against the Lions. Shannon Miller was in the box providing pressure and it ended up going off the head of a Lion's defender into the net. The Bruins now led 3-2. The lead was held for the majority of the second half until the Lions tied it up again in the 82nd minute, but the Bruins stay resilient. With no quit in this team, Mia Marks broke through the line and was patient to find the best possible shot. After juking past a couple defenders, she scored the game-winning goal in the 88th minute of the match.
"Mia continues to give leadership to the team and when the game is on the line she always seems to come through at the right time," said Coach Carmichael.
One of today's celebrated seniors, Sarah Ward, praised her team for the resilience shown today. "In an intense and hard-fought match, the girls showed incredible resilience and heart, never giving up despite the challenges. From the first whistle to the last, we played with a fierce determination, always supporting each other and pushing forward as one unit. Every player gave their all, and it paid off with a well-deserved victory. It was a true display of teamwork, effort, and heart."
Then after the game, Mia Marks had high praise for the way the Bruins played today. "This very well could be the best game I've seen our team play. Though we conceded a few goals against a strong Emmanuel University team, we were patient in our attack and possessed well the whole game. The team glorified God with both their actions and attitude on the pitch and I could not be more proud of them."
The Bruins are now on a seven game win-streak heading into their next match at Toccoa Falls College next Monday, October 14.
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