After four second half goals, the Bruins defeat the Averett University Cougars 4-1 at Alumni Stadium.
"This was a challenging game on many levels as we started strong but then we let them get back in the game which cost us a goal," Head Coach Chris Carmichael said. "I couldn't be more proud of a team. They constantly amaze me with their ability to always stay positive and to work hard to the end."
The first half was started with big offensive chances for the Bruins but none of them resulted in a goal. The Bruins even held steady of the possession game for most of the half as well. The Bruins only allowed one shot on goal all half and it found the back of the net off the head of Cougars star, Celia de Diego. The Bruins grew sluggish towards the end of the half and went into halftime down 1-0.
"The resilience of this team is second to none as we started the second half a bit sluggish. We were just a little off but we got our rhythm of play going and came back and ripped 4 goals in the second half," Coach Carmichael said, crediting the comeback.
The second half definitely showed that resilience that Carmichael speaks of. The Bruins finally broke through when Shannon Miller scored in the 55th minute to tie it at one apiece. Then in the 66th minute, the versatile Elli Cummings put one away off of the assist from Mia Marks to give the Bruins the 2-1 lead. Marks then scored one of her own in the 73rd minute before tallying another assist to a Francesca Peters goal in the 83rd minute!Â
"I'm so proud of how patient this team was today," Mia Marks said. "Despite falling behind one goal in the first half we kept our heads and just possessed the ball. It paid off second half and we secured a big win!"
The Cougars played a very competitive match and were able to frustrate the Bruins by stretching them out due to their deep defensive line. Coach Carmichael credits the Bruins back line by saying "Our defensive line once again played incredibly strong and were able to neutralize the Cougars' attacks. They were able to launch our attacks while our midfield and strikers were able to keep Averett back on their heels quite a bit. They did a tremendous job with creating lots of goal scoring opportunities."
Coach Carmichael also wants to credit the substitutions for doing a phenomenal job keeping the level of play high. They all played quality minutes tonight.
Due to Friday's match against Campbellsville Harrodsburg being moved, the Bruins have a lot of time to rest and train before traveling for a pair of matches in Jacksonville, Florida. The Bruins will play Edward Waters University on October 4 and Trinity Baptist College on October 5.
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