The Bruins won their home opener at Alumni Stadium 2-1 in a thriller against the Greensboro College Pride, led by the goals from Sarah Ward and Shannon Miller.

"The team played incredibly well and so proud of their efforts," Head Coach Chris Carmichael said. "We had been really working on patience in the attacking half of the pitch and using possession to move opposing players in order to create goal scoring opportunities and they did exactly that."

Even though neither team scored, the first half was full of back-and-forth play with chances from both teams. Neither team was able to possess the ball for an extended period of time until the Bruins calmed down towards the end of the half.

The excitement of the second half was constant. The Bruins midfield, led by a phenomenal game from Reagan Tierney, was able to prevent a lot of goal scoring opportunities from the Pride and create opportunities for the Bruins. The Bruins first goal was scored by Sarah Ward in the 55th minute to break the 0-0 draw. Mia Marks had a great play for the assist. After this goal, the Pride started to have more offensive movement, and in the 70th minute, Amery Skinner laced a shot from far out into the net to tie it 1-1. It seemed to be an even game after this until Mia Marks made another assist, this time to Shannon Miller for the game-winning goal!

"The team's resiliency to come back and get the winning goal after a strong Greensboro team got the equalizer is a testament to this team's resolve to get the win," Coach Carmichael said. "They didn't get anxious nor rushed things and just kept on a high possession rate which eventually opened up the situation that led to our winning goal."

After the game, Coach Carmichael had this to say about his whole team: "Our defensive line of Abby Arrowood, Jessica Townsend, Jane Farr, and Elli Cummings again played amazing and all were active both in the attack and on the defensive side of the game. Margaret  Cummings had strong performance at keeper and Mia Marks, Celeste Baladi, Shannon Miller, Francesca Peters, and Sarah Ward were able to sustain constant pressure and created a number of goal scoring opportunities."

He then noted that there were a lot of players that didn't get minutes today due to the nature and plan of the match. It is to be known that even though they didn't get into the match, their footprint was all over as everyone has had a great week of training. This team is a unit.

Sarah Ward was asked about her thoughts after the game and this is what she had to say: "Our team showcased exceptional skill and determination. We dominated possession, effectively controlling the pace and flow throughout the match. Our precision in the final third was very impressive, with well-timed passes and decisive movements leading to several key scoring opportunities. The cohesion and tactical execution in those critical moments were a testament to our preparation and hard work. The defense was very strong today which helped to maintain our 2-1 lead till the end of the game. Overall, the team's performance was a solid reflection of our ongoing efforts and strategy. I am so proud of every single girl today! This was truly a team win!"

The Bruins don't get a lot of recovery time after this thriller as they travel up the road tomorrow to take on Spartanburg Methodist College with a 3:30 kickoff time.