It was a special night as the Bruins celebrated Senior Night and came away with a 4-1 win against the Regent University Royals!
"These are special nights because of what these [seniors] represent and what they have done," Head Coach Greg Fulton said. "It's hard to replace guys that are faithful to the program and keep the standard high every single day. We as coaches are very thrilled that they can be here and leave a legacy, but we're not done yet. This is the beginning of our postseason run and we want to make this season as memorable as it deserves to be."
Throughout the first half, the Bruins had several chances with shots near the goal. The Royals also had several good runs up the field into their offensive third until the Bruins defense got in the way only allowing three shots in the half. The scoring tonight for the Bruins was special as all four goals were scored by four different seniors. The first one came in the 39th minute when Anthony Ruiz placed a free-kick perfectly freezing the keeper. The Bruins held a 1-0 lead going into halftime.
In the second half, the Bruins offense got going. In the 50th minute, Matthias Baladi scored rebound goal making it 2-0. "It was great being in the right place at the right time," he said after the match. Not much later in the 58th minute, Pierre Jean Philippe won a penalty kick for the Bruins. Initially it looked like Dallas Albert was going up to take it, but he grabbed the ball and gave it to Mario Figueroa to take it giving him a chance to score on Senior Night. That was a special moment between Bruins captains that led to Figueroa putting it in to extend the lead to 3-0. To cap out the scoring for the Bruins, Rylan Boldt scored a goal from the top of the box and beautifully placed into the corner. The Royals were able to get a goal back late in the match and the final score was 4-1.
With it being Senior Night, there were some special moments. Each senior got a curtain call exit throughout the second half along with team manager Carson VanderSchel getting time on the field. VanderSchel has served the team for three seasons now and was rightfully rewarded for his work. To add to the excitement, this win now puts Greg Fulton as the winningest head coach in program history, and also marks the first season in program history that the Bruins finish undefeated at home. It was truly a special night and special way to close out the regular season.
"Now it's time to get the guys locked in to play at their best," Coach Fulton said. "We have to show up in the postseason and stay consistent to the kind of soccer we've played all year and prove why we are the number one team in the country."
The Bruins begin the NCCAA DII South Region Tournament next Thurdsay, November 7 as they play against Toccoa Falls College with a chance to move on to the Regional Championship!
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