by Spencer Boehme | Nov 25, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Lipscomb men’s soccer team is going home after a hard-fought, 2-1 loss to No. 3 Kentucky in the NCAA Sweet 16. After a 1-7 record to start the year, the Bisons put up an incredible fight the rest of the way. They sneaked through the NCAA tournament with improbable overtime victories against Washington and UCF, but there wasn’t enough magic to give them another. “This run that we’ve had … is in large part due to the leadership of our senior group,” Lipscomb coach Charles Morrow said. “And [I’m] just really, really proud of them.” Lipscomb’s lone goal came from redshirt senior forward Logan Paynter in the 76th minute. Paynter finished his career with 36 goals – the most in Lipscomb soccer history. “I love Lipscomb more than anything,” Paynter said. “My five years here have been the most amazing time of my life.” His goal tied the game at one shortly after a Wildcat goal from Jason Reyes in the second period, but UK was able to respond with a game-winner from Bailey Rouse in the 81st minute. The Wildcats outshot the Bisons 20-10, and nine of Kentucky shots were on target. “Not necessarily the best soccer teams win,” Morrow said. “But sometimes just…the more athletic teams win.” The first half was all Kentucky. The Wildcats had eleven shots in the first half, with junior forward J.J. Williams grabbing four. Lipscomb could only muster three first-half shots. The Wildcats had only one roadblock: Lipscomb goalkeeper Chris Zappia. The redshirt senior grabbed six saves in the first 45 minutes, and many of those saves were physical stops on...
by Spencer Boehme | Nov 16, 2018 | News Slider, Sports, Uncategorized
Allen Arena was crowded with predominantly Bison fans for Thursday night’s edition of the Battle of the Boulevard. But the Belmont faithful traveled two miles down the road, took over a couple of sections and made their presence known. The trip down Belmont Boulevard paid off, as the Bruins (3-0) beat the Bisons (2-1) by a score of 87-83. The Bisons nearly overcame a 19-point deficit, but a late-game turnover with nine seconds left prevented that from happening. “They didn’t do anything at all that surprised us,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “And I’m sure we didn’t do anything at all that surprised them. That’s just…it’s a matter of who executes the best, and that’s usually the team that wins.” Senior guard Garrison Mathews finished with a team-high 27 points for Lipscomb. Meanwhile, Belmont freshman forward and Nashville native Caleb Hollander posted a 21-point performance, and he also had the play of the game when he forced the game-sealing turnover against junior guard Kenny Cooper. The first half was a tale of momentum swings. Belmont started out hot with a 15-5 lead, but the Bisons responded with a 25-9 run. The Bruins eventually went on a 13-4 run to take a 37-34 halftime lead. Fast-forward ten minutes through the second half. During a media timeout with 10:57 left, the Bruins held their largest lead of the game at 19 points, 65-46. “The beginning of the game, I just didn’t think we played with enough energy,” Alexander said. “And then the beginning of the second half, we didn’t guard their actions very well. They scored possession after-possession on ball screens,...
by Spencer Boehme | Nov 11, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
For the second time in as many years, the Lipscomb men’s soccer team is going to the NCAA tournament. In a brutally cold match at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex, the one-seeded Bisons beat the six-seeded Stetson Hatters by a score of 2-0 on Saturday night. It was a big moment for head coach Charles Morrow, who happily celebrated a Gatorade bath and posed for trophy pictures with his team after the game. “It’s real good to be back here again and get another crack at trying to move on, and get to the NCAA tournament and see what we can do there,” Morrow said. Redshirt senior forward Logan Paynter scored two goals and received the ASUN Tournament MVP. To make the night even more memorable, Paynter set Lipscomb’s program record for career goals by scoring the 34th and 35th tallies of his career. “My teammates did amazing to get me the ball in those spots,” Paynter said. “And, I mean we played such a great game all around, every single player.” Paynter’s first goal came in the 39th minute. It appeared that Stetson goalie Braeden Luna would recover the ball off a slow bounce, but it instead went past him and into the net, giving Lipscomb a 1-0 lead. In the 53rd minute, redshirt sophomore midfielder Ben Locke passed the ball to Paynter, who outran his defender and booted it past Luna for the second and final tally of the night. “I sure do hope we’re going to work hard to showcase what he can do in the NCAA tournament and showcase what he can do [for] pro teams,”...
by Spencer Boehme | Nov 6, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
This year’s women’s basketball season brings Lipscomb fans a lot of exciting possibilities. If you ask Lady Bisons head coach Greg Brown, “it’s going to be a fun season.” All things considered, the 2018-19 year might also be a tough season. After finishing last year as a fourth seed that destroyed USC Upstate in the ASUN quarterfinals, the Lady Bisons will return this year with some expectations —but seven former seniors, including superstar Loren Cagle, won’t be there to help. “[The team] expects to go back,” Brown said. “They expect to host [a tournament game]. And I think that’s the thing that we finally have gotten to now, they expect to win. And they expect to go into practice knowing the things that it takes to win.” The Lady Bisons will have to rely on redshirt sophomore forward Emily Kmec, junior guard Lauren Rau, and sophomore guard Taylor Clark, who each had impressive seasons last year. This year’s roster will also feature six freshmen, whom Brown said he anticipates to undergo “a lot of growth.” The schedule is daunting, both in and out of the ASUN conference, featuring road matchups against teams like Clemson, Cincinnati, Belmont and Georgia, alongside home and road games against Florida Gulf Coast and Liberty. “If we continue to work hard, get better and play with a little bit of hunger and a lot of humility, then we’ve got a chance to be pretty good,” Brown said. Here are six storylines to watch this season: Loren Cagle’s absence When you look at the stats from last season, Cagle played well over 1000 minutes, converted on 192...
by Spencer Boehme | Nov 3, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
It took three consecutive ASUN Championship heartbreakers against FGCU, but the the Lipscomb women’s soccer has finally won its first-ever league tournament title. The team became the latest Lipscomb program to advance to its first NCAA tournament, beating the sixth-seeded North Alabama Lions by a score of 3-2 at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex on Saturday. As a newcomer to the Division I level, North Alabama is not eligible for NCAA tournament. That meant that one-seeded Lipscomb had already clinched an NCAA automatic bid before Saturday night’s game. But for Lipscomb coach Kevin O’Brien, the contest was still a must-win. “The mentality was, who knows if we’re going to get another chance to play for a tournament championship?” O’Brien said. “So we went with the strongest group that we had, and we played to win it.” North Alabama did not go down without a fight. As the bottom seed in the tournament, the Lions took down three-seeded Kennesaw State in the quarterfinals and two-seeded NJIT in the semifinals. The Lions’ two goals against the Lady Bisons matched the total number of goals that Lipscomb has allowed to ASUN opponents all season. One of their goals came from junior forward Shelby Wall, who led the Lions with seven tallies coming into the game. O’Brien said that “neither [of the goals] are a major concern.” Lipscomb’s victory came primarily from two goals scored by junior forward and ASUN Player of the Year Olivia Doak. The other was notched by redshirt junior forward and ASUN All-Academic Team member Maycie McKay. Following the game, McKay was honored as the ASUN Tournament MVP. “It’s been just...
