Coming into Thursday night, Lipscomb was undefeated in conference play this season. They remain undefeated after 110 minutes of hard-fought soccer that ended in a 0-0 draw against the Liberty Flames.
Lipscomb leads their side of the conference in goals scored at 10 and features an all-star roster, including reigning ASUN player of the week sophomore midfielder Kelli Beiler, but on the other side of the pitch, Liberty leads the conference in goals allowed.
Early in the game, it seemed that Liberty’s defense had met their match as several promising crosses entered the box from the Lipscomb attack. But when faced with the 50-50 balls within their own 18 Liberty found a way to win these matchups and clear the ball.
However, a handball in the first half almost changed the dynamic of the game, as Lipscomb received a set-piece just outside the box that was beautifully placed by sophomore striker Molly Grant into the upper right corner of the net, but was even more skillfully saved by sophomore goalkeeper Melody Jayroe.
Jayroe proved to be a thorn in the Bisons’ sides as she maintained a clean slate despite several promising attempts from Lipscomb.
In the other net, freshman goalkeeper CJ Graham got her first conference start for the Bisons and did so masterfully, even while battling the 20 mph gusts.
With the impeccable goalie prowess, the match remained scoreless forcing two golden goal overtime periods, where the play of both goalies continued to impress despite the physical and aggressive play of both offenses.
With the tie, Lipscomb moves to 2-0-1 and Liberty moves to 2-1-1, giving Lipscomb the slight advantage midway through the conference slate.
The Lady Bisons travel to Louisville next to play ASUN newcomer Bellarmine in a Sunday matinee matchup.
Photo by Riley Hoag.