Bridgewater, Va.- On Oct. 22, 2022, Bridgewater College brought home fantastic athletic performances during Homecoming by winning four out of five matchups. 

Football

The Bridgewater Eagles pulled off a hard-earned win against Averett with a score of 23-16. Bridgewater has not gone head-to-head with the Cougars since 2009 when the Eagles defeated them 44-34.

The Eagles lost the spin-off and gained possession first, however they were unable to gain momentum. Bridgewater kicked the ball back to Averett just two minutes into the game. 

Averett only had possession of the ball for one minute before it was punted back to the Eagles, allowing them to rush and score for the first touchdown of the game by senior Albert Mensah. The score was then boosted to 7-0 when sophomore Jackson Hendren scored the extra point. 

The first quarter ended with no additional points from either team. With roughly two minutes left in the second quarter, Averett tied the score 7-7 with a touchdown. The score remained 7-7 as the Eagles headed into halftime. 

The Eagles were not able to score in the third quarter, but Averett managed to up the score to 9-7 in favor of the Cougars. The Eagles put their heads together and showed out in the fourth quarter of the game. 

In Bridgewater’s first possession, Mensah scored another touchdown for the Eagles. For two extra points, junior Tyler Gilliam caught a pass in the end zone for a successful two-point conversion. Bridgewater broke the tie with the score of 15-9. 

Senior quarterback Malcolm Anderson threw a deep left pass to senior Viante Tucker for Bridgewater’s third touchdown of the day. Junior Kyle Beck caught the Eagle’s second two-point conversion attempt in the end zone and increased the score to 23-9. 

Averett managed to score another touchdown and extra kick, but it was not enough to win the favor of the score. Bridgewater ended their homecoming game with a victorious final score of 23-16. 

Volleyball

The Bridgewater volleyball team dominated their homecoming match-ups as they swept both Hood College and Catholic University 3-0.  

The Eagles were undeniable during the first set against Hood, with a score of 25-10. First-year Kylie Robinson ended the first set with a kill, one of nine of the evening. Robinson led the team in kills for the game. 

The second and third sets ended with closer matchups of 25-21 and 25-20. The Eagles have defeated Hood College all four times they have come head-to-head since 2016. 

Overall, the Eagles scored 53 points, led by first-year Gabby Atwell and Robinson with nine. 

The second game of the day against Catholic University was just as successful as the first. The Eagles were stuck in a constant back-and-forth for all three sets. 

The first set ended with a close score of 25-23 from a kill by Robinson. The second with a score of 27-25 as Atwell served an ace to the Cardinals. The third set and the match ended 25-19 with a kill from first-year Faith Depew. 

The Eagles ended homecoming undefeated in both games. 

The volleyball team sets to take on Washington and Lee on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 6:30 p.m. for senior day and their final game of the regular season. 

Soccer

Both the women and the men’s soccer teams battled the Lynchburg Hornets for homecoming. The women’s team came out on top with a close score of 1-0, while the men’s team fell 0-1.