The Bob Jones University women's soccer team closed out their final home game of the season on a high note, earning a 2-0 victory over NCCAA South Region opponent Trinity College of Jacksonville at Alumni Stadium on Saturday.
The Bruins looked to control the pace from the opening whistle. Their persistence paid off in the 23rd minute when senior Francesca Aurednik buried her shot into the back of the net off a well-placed assist from Julia Hartzler, giving BJU the early edge. They maintained that 1-0 advantage into halftime.
During the halftime break, the Bruins took the time to recognize their six graduating seniors: team manager, Julia Weigle, #13 Ellie Cummings, #12 Myleigh Shaw, #30 Francesca Aurednik, #7 Abby Arrowood, and #8 Reagan Tierney.
As the game continued, the Bruins efforts were rewarded late. In the 84th minute, senior Elli Cummings pushed past her defender and slid the ball past the goalkeeper to secure the second goal of the game to put the Bruins on top 2-0.
The Bruins defense limited Trinity's attack to just one shot on goal and Caroline Roland earned the clean sheet in goal, needing only one save to secure the shutout.
With today's win, the Bruins improve to 3-6-5 on the season and maintain their perfect 2-0 region record.
"The team was hungry to redeem themselves today, especially on Senior Day, and I couldn't be more proud of their efforts today," said Head Coach Chris Carmichael following the game. "Trinity College of Jacksonville is much improved with a lot of talent, and they gave us a strong match. We certainly can be more clinical in the attacking third, but overall a much improved performance that we hope to build upon moving into our next games."
"We got off a goal pretty early on into the game to give us the lead. It was a nice cross and finish shot," said #21 Lydia Howell. "We possessed well in the first half and rarely lost the ball. The second half we slowed our play a little, but we held strong defensively. We didn't let them penetrate or get off a shot. The second goal was a great play, through several defenders, made by Elli. Overall, it was an amazing game to honor the seniors."
Senior #13 Elli Cummings also shared saying, "today I learned to love the game even more. I am so proud of all the people who left everything out on the field. I am honored to be a part of this team! It felt good to be connecting again after a rough start to the season. Everyone was possessing and playing with purpose. I'm so proud of Caroline for stepping up in net for such an important game. I'm thankful we could play strong till the end and come out on top with the win!"
Up next, the Bruins will travel to Jacksonville, Florida for back-to-back games against Edward Waters and Trinity College of Jacksonville on October 24 and 25.
