NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb men’s soccer team won 3-0 at home against the University of Alabama in Huntsville Chargers Tuesday evening.
After a 3-1 win over Evansville to start their 2021 campaign, the Bisons kept the offense coming against UAH, a Division II squad from the Gulf South Conference who will not count the game as an official part of their season record.
Despite Lipscomb’s higher division status, the Bisons came into the contest winless in the all-time series between the schools. The Chargers were 3-0 against the Bisons before tonight, winning the last contest versus Lipscomb all the way back in 2003.
An early goal helped the Bisons shake off their previous struggles against the Chargers. In the 8th minute, sophomore forward Alejandro Lopez took a cross from ASUN Preseason Defender of the Year junior Noah Gulden into the box. Lopez shimmied his way into a shooting position and sent it towards the far post, where first-time starter freshman forward Austin Marfell found himself with a tap-in for his first goal as a Bison.
Marfell featured in last weekend’s opener with 30 minutes of playing time, but on a night that delivered him a first start and a first goal for the Purple and Gold, he will likely see this one as his favorite of the two this season.
His early goal would prove to be the only one of the half, as UAH played a tight half defensively despite having few chances in the attack. Lipscomb successfully manhandled the midfield in a similar fashion to Saturday’s win over Evansville, in large part due to the presence of sophomore midfielder Thomas Priest in his defensive midfield role.
Priest followed up a solid 90-minute shift in central midfield with another 90 minutes of consistency against the Chargers, the second full game Priest has played in four days.
Led by their midfield control, the Bisons always felt like the better side throughout the first half, despite being unable to deliver a second goal before the halftime whistle.
They had no such problem in the second half, however, after last weekend’s goalscorers freshman forwards Tyrese Spicer and Javanne Smith were introduced. Spicer, the freshman from Trinidad and Tobago, scored the opener against Evansville last week on an assist from Smith, who slotted in the other two goals on the night. Despite the fact that neither of the on-fire freshmen started the match, they both got on the scoresheet.
First, though, it was sophomore forward Killian Byrne who delivered the goods for Lipscomb. The sophomore from Connecticut only saw 24 minutes last week, but after this performance, head coach Charles Morrow will have to strongly consider giving Byrne more playing time.
In the 64th minute, Byrne found his way to the attacking third and received a well-timed through ball from sophomore striker Hayes Wood. Byrne then carried the ball into the box and attempted to cross the ball low to Spicer in a 2-on-1 situation. The lone UAH defender deflected Byrne’s cross, but it ended up trickling past a helpless Giancarlo Martinez in goal. Byrne was credited with the goal, and it put some breathing room behind a game that was always Lipscomb’s to lose, but looked dangerous at just 1-0. Byrne’s goal put the score at 2-0 for Lipscomb, and the Bisons didn’t look back.
Not even a full minute later, the floodgates well and truly opened. The burgeoning bond between fellow international students Spicer and Smith only grew stronger after Smith created an opening for himself, put a powerful shot on goal, and watched as Martinez’s save was parried out to Spicer across the face of goal, who sent the ball back in. This time, Martinez couldn’t manage a save, and Spicer got his second goal in as many games. Smith was credited with the assist, giving him two on the season.
The Lipscomb defense also impressed, earning their first clean sheet of the season. Sophomore defender Honore Kalala and freshman defender William Turner were a force to be reckoned with at center back, dominating any attackers who found their way into the Lipscomb box.
UAH did manage to get 11 shots away, but ever-present sophomore goalkeeper Michael Sibley saved all four that needed saving to earn a clean sheet.
After the loss, UAH will officially kick off their campaign in Rome, GA against the Shorter Hawks on February 12. Lipscomb, meanwhile, ride a two-game win streak into the weekend, when they host yet another home match at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex against ETSU. They face Conference USA’s East Tennessee State at 2 PM on Saturday, February 13.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics