The Lipscomb women’s soccer team maintained its spotless home record on Sunday, earning a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Wright State, a member of the Horizon League. The win improved the Bisons’ record to 6-1-1 on the season, including a 4-0-1 home record.
“Sunday games are always tough,” coach Kevin O’Brien said after the contest. “We’ve got girls that played 90 minutes on Friday and then 90 more today, so it was really gritty for us to get the win.”
After a scoreless first 45 minutes, things quickly got exciting during the second half of play. Lipscomb broke the 0-0 tie when sophomore Brooke Brenner’s shot found the back of the net in the 57th minute.
Wright State’s Niki Romero answered with a goal of her own in the 80th minute, but the Bisons quickly took the permanent lead just two minutes later with a goal by sophomore Lindsay Brent, who was assisted by Emily Rogers. In a hectic final eight minutes, Lipscomb was able to hold the Raiders scoreless and hold the victory.
“Wright St. was one overtime away from going to the NCAA tournament last season, and they had some really special players that were tough to cover,” O’Brien said. “I was especially proud of the way we rebounded so quickly after they tied the game. We didn’t hang our heads, and I think that says a lot about us as a team.”
Lipscomb and Wright St. both had five shots on target in the match. Both teams put significant pressure on the opposing defenses, especially in the second half.
The Bisons have a busy week on the soccer pitch as the non-conference season comes to a close. Lipscomb will square off against Cincinnati at home this Thursday before wrapping up its non-conference slate at University of Arkansas on Sunday.
Coach O’Brien is excited for the opportunity to play against some tough competition.
“Cincinnati and Arkansas are both really good, NCAA tournament caliber teams,” he said. “Right now we’re just trying to identify holes and fix them so that we can go into the conference season playing well.”
The Bisons will face Cincinnati this Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics.