The Lipscomb women’s soccer team took down ASUN West Division opponent Bellarmine Thursday night at Owsley Brown Frazier Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Bisons produced a 2-0 result as they started division play on the road against a Knights program which is still transitioning to Division I after moving up from Division II last season.
While it was a team effort that gave the away side their fourth ASUN Conference victory of the year, the opening goal from sophomore defensive midfielder Shelby Craft stole the show in the 12th minute. Hailing from Frisco, Texas, the Penn State transfer picked up a loose ball outside the box and launched it across the face of goal into the upper right corner.
“Obviously, that moment is exciting for anyone who gets to experience it,” said Craft. “To get to celebrate it with everyone who put me in position to score that goal is the sweetest thing ever.”
It was a deserved Lipscomb lead inside the first quarter-hour, as head coach Kevin O’Brien’s team played as characteristic of his pressing style as ever. That high-press mentality continued to cause Bellarmine problems for the rest of the half, as they would give up a second goal just past the 20-minute mark.
This time, the quality of the assist was the masterstroke, as attacking midfielder Emanuela Schurch found the ball in space, picked out an aerial pass for Auburn transfer Cami Rogers, and watched Rogers dispatch the one-on-one opportunity past Bellarmine goalkeeper Bailee Witt.
With the goal, Rogers grabbed her fifth of the year, a mark that leads the Bisons and complements her three assists on the season. A winger from Prattville, Alabama, Rogers has started every match this year for Lipscomb and has three goals in her past five matches.
Meanwhile, sophomore goalkeeper CJ Graham earned her eighth clean sheet of the season in 13 matches in her first match since cracking the top ten nationally for save percentage. Born in Swannanoa, North Carolina, Graham has starred between the sticks for Lipscomb this season, but credits much of her success to her backline.
“Because of [the defenders], I’m able to have the record that I have,” said Graham in a particularly significant statement after the Bisons were forced to go to their fourth-choice left back in attacker Grace Oliver. Starting left back Emily Patti has a long-term injury, and Furman transfer Angela Steidl did not appear for the Bisons after suffering concussion-like symptoms in a collision against Kennesaw State last Sunday.
Craft was quick to echo Graham’s statement of faith in her teammates, adding that she felt fully confident in the players around her.
“It’s awesome that no matter who steps on the field, you know you’re going to get the most effort from them, and I trust every one of my teammates,” said Craft on a night in which multiple midfielders either played out of position or started for the first time.
With the win, Lipscomb advances to 9-1-3 on the season with a 4-0-1 mark in ASUN play. Bellarmine, meanwhile, drops to 3-5-5 and falls to 1-0-4 in-conference.
The Bisons are in action again Sunday at 12 p.m. in Richmond, Kentucky when they face Eastern Kentucky for the first time as a conference opponent.