by Russell Vannozzi | Nov 23, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
After back-to-back upset victories of Washington and Central Florida, the Lipscomb Bisons men’s soccer team has become the Cinderella story of the NCAA tournament. The travel-weary Bisons will now make the trek to Lexington for a rematch against the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats, who handed Lipscomb a 3-2 overtime defeat in Nashville on Sept. 18. “It was hard to watch Kentucky walk off our field with a win in a game that we thought we deserved to win,” Lipscomb goalie Chris Zappia said. The winner of Saturday’s game will play the winner of the Duke-Maryland match in the Elite 8 next week. Game information No. 16 Lipscomb (11-9) vs. No. 3 Kentucky (18-1-1) Kickoff: 6 p.m. CT Location: Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex (Lexington, Ky.) TV: SEC Network Plus/WatchESPN Series history These two teams have seen a lot of each other recently. In 2016, the Bisons battled to a 1-1 tie in a game that went to double overtime. Lipscomb forward Josue Chavez scored an early goal and Zappia made six saves, before the Wildcats got on the board in the 70th minute on a tally from Kaelon Fox. In 2017, Lipscomb pulled a 3-2 upset in Lexington behind goals from Logan Paynter, Ivan Sakou and Ryan Birchfield. Zappia made four saves to preserve the victory. Kentucky then returned the favor in overtime this season. Kalil Elmedkhar and Aime Mabika gave the Wildcats a 2-0 lead, but Paytner and Birchfield answered with goals of their own in the second half. But J.J. Williams’s chip over Lipscomb goalie Luke Wilson cemented the 3-2 victory for Kentucky. “One of the core...
by Russell Vannozzi | Nov 23, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
It’s safe to say that the Lipscomb men’s soccer team probably wouldn’t still be alive in the NCAA tournament without goalkeeper Chris Zappia. The fifth-year senior made eight saves against both No. 17 Washington and No. 9 Central Florida to help the Bisons pull off two improbable upsets and advance to the Sweet 16 against No. 3 Kentucky. “Chris is shining right now,” Lipscomb coach Charles Morrow said. “I’d say he’s playing his best, but it’s not like he’s not on par with what his best was last year. He’s been a great goalkeeper for us for several years now.” Zappia boasts a 10-4-1 record in net and has made 61 saves on the year. Entering Saturday’s match against the Wildcats, he has a .782 save percentage and is allowing just 1.07 goals per game. But unlike the six Lipscomb freshmen that are currently playing big roles for the Bisons, Zappia had to patiently wait his turn to become a significant contributor. His first three years in the program were spent behind Micah Bledsoe, who now plays for Nashville SC of the USL. From 2013-16, Bledsoe won 26 starts, had a save percentage of .735 and finished his career with 15 clean sheets. Zappia took over goalkeeping duties in 2017 and was instrumental in leading Lipscomb’s to its first-ever ASUN tournament title and NCAA tournament appearance. He finished the season with 11 wins and a .698 save percentage in 21 starts. “You can look at Chris and what’s he done as a model of perseverance and [how] good things come to those who wait and work hard,” Morrow said....
by Russell Vannozzi | Nov 22, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
It’s easy to label the Lipscomb men’s soccer team as an underdog in the NCAA tournament. They just aren’t playing like one. After a sluggish 1-7 start to the season, the Bisons have orchestrated a turnaround of epic proportions. Lipscomb is 10-2 in its last 12 matches, including tournament upsets at No. 17 Washington and at No. 9 Central Florida last week. That sets up a Sweet 16 battle at No. 3 Kentucky this Saturday, when the odds will once again be stacked against Lipscomb. “When people doubt this team, for whatever reason, it seems to fuel the fire,” Lipscomb goalie Chris Zappia said. “It’s nice to show everyone that we’re sort of the David in the [midst] of a bunch of Goliaths at this point.” Those circumstances have allowed the team to play pressure-free on the big stage of the NCAA tournament. “I think that makes us a really dangerous team,” coach Charles Morrow said. “There were games that were harder for us to deal with in our conference tournament because there was that pressure [to win]. “To be able to go out and play free is a beautiful thing. I don’t know that any of these guys really and truly feel that they’re the underdog. They feel like they can beat anyone.” Lipscomb’s 2-0 loss at Butler in the program’s first-ever NCAA tournament appearance last season meant that some of this year’s team already had experience with the high stakes. “We’ve been pretty loose, honestly,” forward Logan Paynter said. “I think last year helped a lot. We were pretty nervous then. This year a lot of the...
by Mckenzi Harris | Nov 19, 2018 | Galleries, News Slider
Students headed home for Thanksgiving break and are returning to campus for classes tomorrow. But before winter hits and the signs of fall are gone, Lumination’s Mckenzi Harris captured the changing leaves on campus just in time. See her gallery below: ...
by Erin Franklin | Nov 19, 2018 | News Slider, Newscast
On Lumination News this week, an important story on student safety, coverage of Lipscomb Homecoming, Stompfest and more. Anchors: Cavin Jacobson and Erin Franklin Sports: Tyler Harvey Weather: Spencer Boehme Free Segment: Lebron Hill...
by Russell Vannozzi | Nov 19, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
ORLANDO, Fla. – If there’s a Cinderella story in the NCAA men’s soccer tournament, it’s been the Lipscomb Bisons. And after a 1-0 overtime upset of No. 9 Central Florida on Sunday, the shoe apparently fits well. Lipscomb’s Louis Robinson got a foot on low cross from Austin Eager in the 97th minute, and the freshman beat UCF keeper Yannik Oettl to give the Bisons a 1-0 victory. The win came just three days after Lipscomb stunned Washington with a 5-4 victory in penalty kicks. The Bisons then made the cross-country trip from Seattle to Orlando on Friday to prepare for their second-round match at UCF. Lipscomb goalie Chris Zappia had another career night and made eight saves for the second consecutive game. UCF fired 19 total shots to Lipscomb’s eight, but the Bison defense held on for extra time. Just before Robinson’s decisive tally, Logan Paynter and Noah Gulden each had shots on the UCF net. The ball was cleared away by UCF and corralled by Ryan Birchfield, who fed a pass to Eager to set up the game-winning strike. Survive. Advance. @LipscombMSOC is moving on after an OT winner!#NCAASoccer pic.twitter.com/DJJN66OknH — NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer) November 19, 2018 The Knights (13-2-3) controlled possession and appeared to have the Bisons on their heels for much of the first half. But after allowing 10 UCF shots in the first 45 minutes, the Bisons allowed just five in the second half. Robinson, a midfielder from Nottingham, England, emerged as a goal-scoring threat midway through the season. His four goals are tied for second most on the team behind Paynter’s nine tallies....
