CLEVELAND, GA. |Bears Defeat Bluefield to Move On to Conference Semi-Finals
Saturday marked the Quarterfinal round in the AAC Post-Season Tournament, and with the Bears holding the third seed, they played host to the Bluefield Rams. Both teams had their ups and downs throughout the regular season, and in the regular season matchup the Rams got the best of the Bears with a win in West Virginia. So, with the season on the line and TMU looking to repay Bluefield with a loss, this was a highly anticipated match and it did not disappoint.
The Bears got the scoring off to an early start by taking the lead in the sixth minute. TMU was awarded a corner, which was taken by
Joao Costa, who served the ball into the box.
Alex Reynolds was on the other end of the pass, who then directed the ball superbly into the back of the net. The Bears added on to their lead just seven minutes later. Senior
Felipe Nunez's consistent hard work was rewarded as the Rams' defense took a bad touch on the ball in front of their own net and Nunez rocketed the ball into the goal giving the Bears an early 2-0 lead. The game settled down after that, and due to a PK awarded to the Rams in the thirty-first minute, the Bears held to a 2-1 lead going into halftime.
The Bears looked to add on to their lead when the second half began, and in the fiftieth minute they got their chance.
Jordan Moreno played in a free kick which found
Joao Costa open, and he delivered a fantastic strike for the Bears' third goal of the contest. The Rams were able to cut into the lead in the in the seventy-seventh minute, but the Bears stood firm in not allowing the Rams to find an equalizer, giving the match a final score of 3-2.
"I thought the boys did fantastic against a very good team. Bluefield have had a great season but our boys really showed their quality today," said Coach
Rob Miller after the game. "
Evan Gaffney made some very big plays and helped us keep our lead. Overall [it was] a very good team performance, and we believe we deserve to be in the final four, and we hope to go further!" The Bears know that they will be playing Tuesday November 7th, but their opponent and the location of the match has yet to be determined as they wait to see who wins the match-up between Bryan College and Milligan College.
