The Lipscomb women’s soccer team defeated the University of North Alabama Lions 1-0 Sunday afternoon in overtime.
After 90 minutes of near misses, the Bisons found the match-winner they deserved in the 99th minute of the contest and earned all three points to clinch an ASUN tournament spot.
Head coach Kevin O’Brien was pleased with the overall result, but recognized a necessity to be more clinical in front of goal.
“In every game we’ve played, we’ve created ample chances to score goals and win games,” said head coach Kevin O’Brien. “In today’s match, we just [weren’t] converting at the ratio that we want to be as a program.”
“Tactically, we’ve been playing it pretty consistently, whether we’re playing a 4-3-3 or a 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2. Let’s be honest: today, we dominated the match, but we gave up two very dangerous chances. We could have lost this one as well.”
Sophomore goalkeeper CJ Graham was a key in the Bisons keeping the clean sheet, making four saves on the afternoon. Hailing from Swannanoa, North Carolina, Graham reached 62 saves on the campaign after the win.
In the first half, the Bisons put up three quick shots in the opening five minutes and would go on to shoot seven times in the first 45 minutes. North Alabama failed to offer much of a counter, but defended well and held onto a 0-0 stalemate going into halftime.
Lipscomb ramped the pressure up even more in the second period, barraging the Lions with 17 shot attempts. Junior midfielder and Auburn transfer Cami Rogers led the team with 7 shots, but couldn’t find a way to add to her team-leading goal count of 5.
True freshman midfielder Noa Ganthier registered two of those shots for the Bisons. After joining Lipscomb this summer from Boca Raton, Florida, Ganthier has become the most important true freshman on the team and contributed 37 minutes off the bench.
Ganthier was positive about the result she helped create for the Bisons despite the frustrating first 90 minutes.
“[The match] was fun,” said Ganthier. “Hard, of course, but we never gave up as a team. I’m just happy we were able to put it in at the end.”
“I came in not expecting anything, but the girls have made it so easy for me to come in, start, and get a lot of minutes. The team is why I can do so well.”
Redshirt sophomore striker Molly Grant came the closest to a winner in regular time, as she struck the post with less than two minutes in regular time to play. The Plainfield, Illinois-born 3-year starter found an opening at the top of the box and tried to pick out the far corner from the left side of goal, but her effort was denied by the woodwork.
That would send the match into a overtime period, where a golden goal format was used. It didn’t take long for the Bisons to continue dominating offensively, as they took seven more shots in the overtime period and pushed their match total to 31, a season high.
The 31st and final shot was the most crucial, as Grant found herself in the right place at the right time off a deflected pass from Rogers. Grant took the ball in the center of the box, turned to her right, and arrowed a close-range effort past the goalkeeper to give the Bisons the result they fully deserved on the day. For Grant, it was a moment of great relief.
“It’s awesome to win and clinch our spot in the ASUN tournament,” said Grant. “It was a team effort, and hats off to them. Our team didn’t stop.”
Grant also praised the quality of a back line who earned the team a clean sheet and set up the match-winner.
“It’s just a sense of security; they will always be there and always do their role. They’re always just that safety net for our team.”
Now that they have a spot in the ASUN tournament, the Bisons turn their attention towards locking down the top seed in the West Division and earning the right to host the first and second rounds of the postseason in Nashville. They trail Central Arkansas by three points, but hold a tiebreaker over the Sugar Bears. Those two division-leading teams face each other at 6 pm on October 23 in Nashville in the regular-season finale for both squads.
Meanwhile, Lipscomb’s record improves to 11-1-4, while the Lions fall to 2-3-13, continuing the narrative of a disappointing season in Florence, Alabama.
The Bisons’ final match of the regular season against Central Arkansas will be broadcast live on The Bison, Lipscomb’s on-campus radio station. Listen live to the match at 6 pm by visiting thebisonradio.com.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics