The BJU Lady Bruins defeated the visiting Toccoa Falls Eagles 3-1 Oct. 13. BJU found redemption for earlier this season when the Eagles handed the Lady Bruins their sole conference loss.
From the kickoff, the Lady Bruins controlled the game, creating several shooting opportunities for Abby Davis and Jenn Wise. A few minutes later, the Lady Bruins won a corner. The Eagles were unable to clear the ball as it fell to Spencer Martin, but Martin’s shot sailed over the goal.
On the other half, the Eagles won a corner. The Eagles’ shot in traffic hit the post, but bounced out of the danger zone. Soon after, the Eagles’ Lizz Rice volleyed a shot that escaped junior goalkeeper Kristen Haertlein’s grasp and fell into the goal.
The Lady Bruins took the 1-0 deficit as motivation and pressed hard. With less than five minutes in the half, Kaitlyn Hummel crossed a ball that eventually fell to the feet of Mimi Lozano. Lozano skillfully dribbled past two defenders and blasted a shot past the keeper.
The equalizer was exactly what the Lady Bruins needed. After the game, Coach Chris Carmichael said, “The goal before the half was our most important one of the game.”
At the half, the Lady Bruins went to their team meeting determined to pull out a win.
“First half, we were dragging, but we had a good halftime,” Davis said. “We talked about what we needed to do, which was to go out there and give it everything, and we did exactly that.”
The Lady Bruins started out the second half well by stealing the ball from the Eagles and creating several offensive opportunities. Caralise Roach received the ball and crossed it into the middle to the waiting Abby Davis. Davis squeezed the ball between the keeper and the post, putting the Lady Bruins up 2-1.
The Bruins created several more opportunities, but Jenn Wise’s shot again hit the crossbar. The Eagles pushed hard for an equalizing goal, but Tessie Estrella cleared the ball out of danger and to the feet of Abby Davis. Davis capitalized for her second goal of the game, sealing the Lady Bruins’ 3-1 win.
“We came out of the half with a lot more energy,” Carmichael said. “We just had to assert a stronger will to win the game, and that is exactly what we did.”
In their next game, the Lady Bruins will host Kentucky Christian University tonight at Alumni Stadium.
