Lipscomb men’s soccer (2-0-0) culminated its first weekend of regular season play on Sunday afternoon at the with a 3-0 victory over the Western Illinois Leathernecks (0-1-1) at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex, following their season-opening victory Friday night.
“The momentum is all there for us right now,” assistant coach Peter Lowry said. “There is a lot of hard work in the off-season that is paying off as we start the season well.”
The Bisons controlled the flow and tempo for the majority of the game, beating Western Illinois from the start with run after run into the box. After a few possessions cleared away by the Leathernecks back line, freshman midfielder Brandon Santel sent an arching cross from the right side that sophomore Logan Paynter headed from 10 yards out into the top left corner of the goal in the 10th minute of the game.
“Logan was after the back four, and I just did my best to whip one over to him, and he finished with a beautiful touch,” Santel said, who recorded the first assist of his collegiate career tonight.
Lipscomb continued to make strong offensive plays while the defensive back line remained firm and stopped any counterattack Western Illinois made, allowing the Bisons to coast into a 1-0 halftime lead.
Opening the second half, both teams pressured heavily and played fast-tempo. In the 53rd minute, the Bisons took advantage of a free kick from freshmen defender Austin Eager as Paynter again capitalized on an assist from a teammate, rocketing the ball high into the left half of the goal.
This was Paynter’s second score of the game and third of the season. Paynter leads the team in goals.
The Bisons continued to attack for the remainder of the second half, culminating in junior forward Kyle Smith’s goal just inside the far post from his position in the left half of the box in the 89th minute. Junior forward Ivan Sakou assisted Smith.
Smith said he is impressed with the “strong play” from the freshman, noting that he thinks their play has helped with the momentum the team is currently riding on.
“It really helps to have guys who can come on and play 15 or 20 solid minutes, and it adds depth to this team that we did not have last year,” Smith said.
Lipscomb finished the game with 13 shots and five on goal compared to the Leathernecks’ one shot and none on goal, resulting in a second-straight clean sheet for senior goalkeeper Micah Bledsoe.
“I’d take that one every week,” Bledsoe commented. “It is a hot Sunday afternoon, and that makes earning a clean sheet even harder. It’s all about discipline, and the defenders in front of me really played well and helped me out today.”
The Bisons look to continue their early success against Georgia State in Atlanta on Friday, September 2 at 6:30 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics