The Lipscomb men’s soccer team secured a 2-1 victory against the No. 10-ranked Xavier Musketeers at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex Thursday night.
This match gave the team its first-ever win against a top-ten team in program history.
Xavier began the scoring on a penalty kick in the 20th minute by senior Alex Ridsdale. This would be all Xavier scored during the rest of the game.
For Lipscomb, junior Daniel Vieira scored the first goal in the 23rd minute followed by 25-yard goal from sophomore Ivan Alvarado in the 27th minute.
Lipscomb entered the second half with strong defense as Xavier fought for control of the ball.
While Xavier had many opportunities during the second half, the team failed to capitalize when it mattered most.
“We challenge our players’ skills and we specifically challenge their mentality,” head coach Charles Morrow said. “I thought our players’ responses tonight were world-class.”
Later in the second half, a red card was thrown on behalf of sophomore midfielder Jonathon Ramirez of Lipscomb and Matt Nance of Xavier; the two were ejected from the game.
“I did not think it was a very physical game,” Morrow said. “It was an emotional game. Quite honestly, I thought the referees got a little too caught up in the emotion of the game, though I will need to look back at the film.”
With 24 minutes left in the game, a weather delay paused play for several minutes.
Sophomore midfielder Eduardo Reza later preserved the Bisons victory in the 83rd minute after he intercepted a kick with his head.
Lipscomb returns to the field on Friday, Sept. 11 when it takes on Campbell University in a 3:30 p.m. game at Rose Park.
Photo by Sam Webb