The Bob Jones University Bruins men’s soccer team competed in two friendly scrimmages with Southern Wesleyan University and Columbia International University on Saturday.

In the first scrimmage, the Bruins almost held on for a 1–1 draw, but the SWU Warriors found the back of the net again to win it 2–1.

In the second scrimmage, Lee Nichols had a nice goal to put the Bruins in the lead 1–0. The Bruins’ strong defense held on, and the Rams were held scoreless.

After the outdoor scrimmages, the teams moved into the DFH for a friendly futsal tournament.

“There have been a number of players that have stepped up this spring,” coach Jesse McCormick said. “As a team, I have been very happy with things, and part of it is the guys that do the work over the summer. We want to make sure we have quality-experienced players at different areas of the pitch. So, we shuffled a few players around defensively.”

The Bruins graduated five seniors last season after ending the 10–7 on the season, but they have signed several recruits that should benefit the team going forward. Will Hoffman (Bear, Del.), Donovan Lewis (Greenville, S.C.), Casey Miller (Greenville, S.C.), Will Moy (Raleigh, N.C.), Andrew Peterson (Raleigh, N.C.), and Jesse Rush (Greenville, S.C.) are all expected to make contributions on and off the field in the future.

“We are very excited to bring in a well-rounded group of players who have been very successful both on the field and in the classroom,” McCormick said.

The Bruins are looking forward to a great season in the fall. With the practice they’re having in the offseason and the new recruits coming in, the Bruins are on the right track. The Bruins have had a solid spring, but the real test will begin this fall.

“Overall, I’ve been really pleased with everything this spring,” McCormick said. “We have a good group of guys returning, and we had good results in the spring games. We have a handful of returning players [that have been injured] that will see a lot of time on the field. Everything has stayed pretty sharp.”

The Bruins will play in their final exhibition of the spring on April 23 in the annual alumni game at Alumni Stadium.