Tornados’ Late Comeback Attempt Falls Short in Winston-Salem

Tornados’ Late Comeback Attempt Falls Short in Winston-Salem

Photo Credit: John Innis

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Brevard College freshman forward/midfielder Kyndall Cochran tallied her first-career regular-season goal as a collegiate athlete in a late comeback attempt that came up just short as the BC Tornados women's soccer team (0-2-1) fell in neutral-site action to the N.C. Wesleyan College Battling Bishops (1-2), 2-1 at the BB&T Sports Park in Winston-Salem, N.C. 

Cochran's strike came in the 81st minute off an Abbie Petrosky corner kick from the near sideline. Petrosky sailed the ball perfectly into the right side of the box, where Cochran took one touch and struck the ball into the bottom left corner past the Battling Bishop keeper. The score gave the Tornados new life, cutting the N.C. Wesleyan lead in half. However, the Battling Bishops were able to stave off the comeback bid, claiming the narrow victory. 

Rebeccah Rojas (0-2-1) got the start in goal for the Tornados, shutting out the Battling Bishops through the first half. Rojas tallied four saves in her 90 minutes of action. 

N.C. Wesleyan forward Sarah Cook led the charge for the Battling Bishops, scoring twice in the contest. Cook placed a corner kick off Rojas' outstretched hands and straight past the goal line in the 58th minute to give NCWC the contest's first score and a 1-0 advantage. Just under eight minutes later, Cook struck again as midfielder Kristel Thompson played a ball off the right side through and straight to Cook, who was waiting on the left edge of the box. Cook then played the ball of her right foot and placed her shot past Rojas into the lower right corner, extending the Battling Bishops' lead to a 2-0 advantage. 

From there, the Tornados regained some momentum, as they started to build on the attack. Brevard won its fateful corner kick and sent Petrosky to the near side to kick the corner. The sophomore from South Park, Pa. placed the ball perfectly to Cochran, a freshman from Bryson City, N.C. to get the Tornados back in the match. 

Brevard then pushed toward the finish line looking to find an equalizer. Both Cochran and Brianna Link, a freshman from Murrieta, Calif., took shots in the last nine minutes of action. But NCWC keeper Alicia Jacobs stood firm, as the Battling Bishops keeper who racked up four saves on the night kept the Tornados out of goal in the final stages of action to wrap up the victory, 2-1. 

Brevard women's soccer returns to action on Saturday, September 14 with a road trip to Buena Vista, Va. to battle Southern Virginia at 6 p.m. BC is slated to return home on Tuesday, September 17 to face off with Salem College at Ives-Lemuel Family Field. Kickoff time is scheduled for 7 p.m. BC's contest versus Salem will serve as the WNC-area Alumni meetup game, hosted by the Brevard College Alumni Association. WNC area alumni are welcomed to a BBQ cookout to cheer on BC women's soccer.

To follow the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Athletics, follow the Tornados on Twitter and Instagram @bctornados, subscribe to 'Brevard College Tornados' on YouTube, follow 'Brevard College Tornados' on SoundCloud, or like Brevard College Athletics on Facebook. 

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