by Danny Kotula | Nov 15, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s soccer team won the 2021 ASUN Championship Final over Central Arkansas in a 4-1 decision at Lipscomb Soccer Complex Saturday night. Two goals in each half gave the Bisons their third victory at home against the Bears in the past two years. More importantly, the win gives Lipscomb a berth in the NCAA College Cup, the Division I national tournament for men’s soccer, as ASUN Conference representatives. Junior attacker Hayes Wood, a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, scored twice in an integral contribution for the Bisons on the evening. His first goal gave Lipscomb a lead they would never relinquish in the 28th minute. Sophomore forward Tyrece Spicer carried the ball down the right side of attack with purpose, and his cutback found Wood in the center of the box with a point-blank finish. “It felt amazing,” Wood said of the game’s first goal. “Just gets the game set and gets some momentum going. It felt so good to get us on the board.” The opener came mostly against the run of play, as Central Arkansas controlled the bulk of possession during the first 20 minutes of the match. Momentum quickly shifted towards the home side after the goal, though, and they converted that atmosphere into a second goal. Spicer, a Trinidad and Tobago-born striker who came off the bench, provided the assist once again on another tantalizing cross from out wide. This time, Spicer’s service found graduate transfer Bakary Bagayoko, a striker from Bronx, New York, who joined Lipscomb this year after four years at NAIA program Cumberland. Bagayoko delivered from the edge of the six-yard...
by Danny Kotula | Nov 14, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb women’s soccer team lost 3-0 in the first round of the 2021 NCAA College Cup to the Tennessee Lady Vols at Regal Soccer Stadium in Knoxville. In only their fifth loss all year, the Bisons were let down by errors at unfortunate times and ultimately outclassed by the sixth-best team in the nation. The opening period of play belonged to Tennessee, as only a slew of saves from sophomore goalkeeper CJ Graham kept the Lady Vols from scoring within the first 10 minutes. Graham faced 16 shots over the course of the match and made 5 saves. A screamer from outside the box was what it took to beat the nation’s leading goalkeeper in clean sheets with 13, and that was what Abbey Burdette provided for the home side in the 28th minute. That 1-0 lead would hold into the halftime break. “I think in the first half, we were a little frazzled,” Cami Rogers, a junior midfielder from Prattville, Alabama, said. “In the locker room and going into the second half, we were like, ‘okay, it’s 1-0. We can play with them, and we can do this.’ I think we think we saw that in the second half. “ “Two unfortunate goals happened, but that’s okay, that’s just part of the game,” the Auburn transfer said. “But I’m thankful to do it with this team.” Indeed, the Bisons battled back and showed resilience and creativity in the attack as the second half started. True freshman Shadia Valenzuela caused problems for the Bisons up front, providing hold-up play that kept the Bisons in possession after a first...
by Elly Ashlock | Nov 14, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb volleyball team was boldly victorious over the North Alabama Lions in straight sets at Allen Arena Friday night. The team opened a packed two-game weekend with a pregame tailgate and a bittersweet senior night. Lipscomb recognized five seniors: Logan Gish, Garrett Joiner, Kat Lowry, Alex Spencer, and Lanie Wagner. To begin the night, North Alabama claimed the first three points before Kat Lowry fired a kill that was mishit off a defender. Despite her season-ending injury, Wagner stepped on the court to serve for Lipscomb. “It was really cool to see us gather around each other,” hitter Addi Pelham said. “We were very encouraging towards one another, especially for the seniors tonight.” Both teams struggled to keep their attacks in play. However, Garrett Joiner was able to break the streak sending the Bisons on a 4-0 run to tie the set 7-7. Pelham aided her team to a 14-9 lead, firing back-to-back kills over the net, forcing a North Alabama timeout. Staying ahead, Pelham teamed up with Meg Mersman for the remainder of the critical points of set one. The two hitters charged the net with a solid block followed by a solo kill from each. These points carried the Bisons to set point, which was quickly earned by a service error from the Lions. Lipscomb took the first set 25-13. Lanie Wagner opened up set two with a service for Lipscomb. Unlike the first set, the teams battled for the lead point-by-point with multiple errors from the home team. It wasn’t until the score reached 6-6 that Lipscomb held another 4-0 run led by seniors Garrett...
by Gracie Simpson | Nov 11, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb women’s soccer team sports an overall record of 15-4-1 and claimed their third ASUN championship in four years on Saturday evening. Despite this, though, they will be serious underdogs as they head to Knoxville this Friday for the opening round of the 2021 NCAA College Cup. Their task is to take on the SEC champions who are ranked #6 in the country, the Tennessee Lady Vols. Head coach Kevin O’Brien is excited for this opportunity, and says he is grateful for another week with this special team. “I told the girls earlier, the pressure is on them [Tennessee],” O’Brien said. “They are ranked 6th in the country at the moment…. we just go in there and have fun. Play in freedom, go in and enjoy it.” He has confidence his squad can pull off an upset. “This is one of those sports where it is very unpredictable,” O’Brien said. “If we are able to take a goal or two and be stingy defensively, we can walk away with a win, which is exciting.” Emanuela Schurch, who now has three rings under her belt at Lipscomb, is more than ready for this game. “I am definitely so excited because we are the underdog and no one expects us to win,” Luzern, Switzerland-born attacking midfielder Emanuela Schurch said. “I feel like we can’t lose anything. If we lose, okay; nothing else was expected. But if we win, it’s huge. We are ready and we won’t back down from a fight.” Schurch said. Senior striker Kammy McGee, who scored the goal in the ASUN Championship that got the Bisons to...
by Gunnar Eng | Nov 11, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The relationship between God and Lipscomb students is a cornerstone of the university, but there are unique possibilities for developing that bond when dealing with athletic competition. No one understands that better than Chris Klotz, director of spiritual formation in athletics. “We talk about competition all the time, and how much of a gift it is to compete,” Klotz said. “We want to enhance that competitiveness by looking at how God would view that as well.” Klotz also said he views his official job title as an inaccurate description of how he helps athletes on campus with their faith. “It’s not my job to form anyone spiritually, that is the work of God,” Klotz said. “I get to be a part of that journey and process with the athletes and coaches. And there is no greater opportunity than to help with that as God does the heavy lifting.” Along with helping athletes on a daily basis, Klotz has created programs such as the 5-5-5 campaign that involves praying for five athletes, five minutes a day, five days a week. “Essentially we put all of the athletes on cards, five at a time, and email them out to the university, family, friends, and anyone connected to athletics,” Klotz said. “We ask them to commit to this pledge of praying for these athletes and how personal and important it can be to connect with them on a spiritual level.” Lipscomb women’s soccer player Katia Hanger came to Lipscomb for the spiritual aspect and sees how integrated it is on her team. “Everyone is in different places in their faith journeys, but...
by Danny Kotula | Nov 10, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team kicked off the 2021-22 season with a high-scoring 105-98 win over Division III opponents Birmingham-Southern. The Bisons took control early, but had to weather various comeback efforts by the Panthers to win in their first game since bowing out of the ASUN Tournament in the first round last year. Offensively, Sheboygan, Wisconsin-born Jacob Ognacevic led Lipscomb with 30 points, 7 rebounds, and an assist. It took his entire contribution for the Bisons to stave off an upset attempt by the Panthers, an old NAIA rival of the Bisons decades ago. Jonathan Stewart provided 28 points for the Panthers on 10-for-15 shooting from the field. Stewart added 14 rebounds for a double-double in the loss for BSC. “I’ll be honest: I don’t feel like we played particularly well”, assistant coach Kevin Carroll said. “Ahsan Asadullah is our go-to guy, and he just had kind of an off night tonight. Even JO [Ognacevic] had a couple of uncharacteristic misses.” “The mark of a good team is finding different ways to win,” Carroll said. “There’s no one formula for winning. You’re going to play different teams that play different styles, but good teams just find a way to outlast the other team, and that’s what we did tonight.” The Panthers kept it close throughout, staying within 10 points during the entire first period. Pacing the Panthers was Stewart, who poured in 10 points in the first half and kept Lipscomb honest defensively. Freshman forward Jacob Ognacevic put up 12 of his 30 points in the first period, leading the way off the bench in his first appearance...
