Lipscomb men’s soccer (4-8-0, 3-1-0 ASUN) secured its spot in the ASUN Championship Saturday, defeating the Liberty Flames 3-1 in the Bisons’ first home game in two weeks.
Star forward Logan Paynter called it a “little bit of a weird game.”
“The other team takes a red card, and they become very defensive,” Paynter said. “We had to be very patient and wait for those opportunities. We had quite a few; we took three of them and that was enough.”
The ASUN’s leading scorer, Tresor Mbuyu, intercepted a pass meant for Lipscomb’s goalkeeper and tucked it away in the 11th minute to give the Flames an early lead.
Then the Bisons got on the board when Paynter was dragged down in the box in the 28th minute, drawing a red card and a penalty kick. Ryan Birchfield sent the penalty shot home to tie the game.
In the 39th minute, Daniel Muhlbauer scored the first goal of his Lipscomb career to give the Bisons the lead.
“I waited way too long for it, and now finally scoring… it’s a pretty big moment for me, and I’m really happy about it,” said Muhlbauer.
Paynter’s goal in the 67th minute put the nail in the coffin.
“We lost a lot of very, very close games [this season],” Paynter said. “A lot of one-goal games, overtime games, maybe games we should’ve won, but didn’t take our chances, and that just taught us how to win.”
All proceeds from ticket sales and a charity raffle for a framed jersey went to the American Cancer Society.
The Bisons will face Louisville, October 16. The ASUN Championship begins Nov. 2.