The Lipscomb men’s soccer team defeated the Central Arkansas Bears by a 1-0 scoreline Saturday night in overtime.
In a battle between the top two teams in the ASUN Conference, the Bisons earned the title of ASUN regular season champions at the last possible moment, winning in overtime on the last day of the regular season.
The match also served as Senior Night for Lipscomb’s four graduating players after the season ends. Defenders Chase Carraher and Honore Kalala and attackers Bakary Bagayoko and Zarek Jakubowski were the four players to be honored who will move on from Lipscomb next year.
On the field, the match lived up to its billing as the best two teams in the conference traded blows. Both sides attacked freely from the onset, but the two pairs of defensive lines held firm all night long. For Lipscomb in particular, it was one of the best defensive efforts the team has put together across the season.
Central Arkansas was limited to just three shots in the first half and five more in the second half; for the first time this season, UCA failed to register a single shot on target to test Bisons goalkeeper Michael Sibley.
Meanwhile, Lipscomb struggled with possession throughout the match. Head coach Charles Morrow came out with a clear counterattacking mentality, absorbing pressure deep and relying on quick passes to test the Bears. Things didn’t pan out in the attack in the first half, though, as Lipscomb only registered one shot in the first 45.
The second half showed minor improvement for the Bisons, who were bolstered by a Senior Night crowd boost as well as a singing student section. Chattanooga, Tennessee-born Hayes Wood put up three shots, a mark that led the team. Sophomore attacker Tyrece Spicer came off the bench and added two shots on target.
In the end, though, Lipscomb’s effort in attack wasn’t enough to find a winner in regular time. Knowing that only a win would give Lipscomb the regular-season crown, the Bisons had just two 10-minute overtime periods to find a golden goal and win the match.
As it turned out, all they needed was one. Lipscomb dominated the first overtime period and found their reward in the 98th minute, when Costa Rican attacking midfielder Alejandro Lopez drove down the right flank and sent in a low cross to the back post. Javanne Smith, a sophomore striker from Nottingham, England, latched onto the ball there and kept his cool, finishing a close-range effort that sent the Lipscomb faithful into elation.
With the win, Lipscomb bests Central Arkansas on an overall-record tiebreaker and advances to 10-2-3. UCA, who will now occupy the 2 seed in the ASUN Tournament, drops to 10-0-5 on the year.
Lipscomb will now host their entire ASUN Tournament run, starting with the semifinal 2 pm Sunday. If they win, they play host to the ASUN Final at Lipscomb Soccer Complex on November 13 for the right to represent the conference in the NCAA College Cup.
Sunday’s semifinal will be broadcast live on The Bison, Lipscomb’s on-campus radio station.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb athletics