The BJU Bruins men’s soccer team defeated the Point University Skyhawks 5-2 on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at Alumni Stadium. The win improved the Bruins’ season record to 8-3 overall.
The Skyhawks started the first half with the ball, but any offensive threats were halted by the Bruins’ strong defense.
In the third minute, Garret Martin sent a ball to Jared Simmons who promptly buried it in the back of the net.
Defender Derek Doran also had a powerful shot on goal, but was caught by the Skyhawks’ goalkeeper Nathan Campbell.
After 15 minutes of play, the Bruins scored again as Ryan McCarty assisted John Wilson for a beautiful goal.
The Skyhawks retaliated with a run to goal, but the run was stopped by a sliding Dundas Clark, the Bruins’ goalkeeper.
Soon after, Garrett Martin fed a free kick to Karl Walker, who capitalized on the opportunity, putting the Bruins up 3-0 with 22 minutes left in the first half.
The Bruins continued to dominate possession in the first half and had excellent passing. The half ended with the Bruins leading the Skyhawks 3-0.
“The first half couldn’t have gone better,” McCarty said. “We have to stay sharp for the full 90 minutes, not just the first 45. Overall it was a good performance, and we put away a lot of set pieces.”
The Bruins started the second half with possession of the ball, but the energetic Skyhawks attempted to come back from the halftime deficit.
The Skyhawks’ Roberto Carizzosa headed a perfect ball past Clark, putting the Skyhawks on the board.
The Bruins began to work the ball, possessing well, when a Skyhawk defender committed a handball in the box. Travis Woodham buried the ensuing penalty kick to give the Bruins a 4-1 advantage.
The Skyhawks had several opportunities to score but could not capitalize again until TJ Clay dribbled past the Bruins’ defense and scored the second goal for the Skyhawks.
With eight minutes to go, Carizzosa had a close shot that went just above goal.
Soon after, AJ Redlinger solidified the Bruins’ win by scoring a beautiful header. The Bruins ended the match on top with a score of 5-2.
“I thought that our midfield was doing a really good job of facilitating the attack, and we had players off the ball in good areas to really help the passing move well,” coach Jesse McCormick said.
The Bruins will next play seventh-ranked Emmanuel College at home Saturday evening.
