Lipscomb’s men’s soccer team ended its season Friday night in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament, but despite the loss the team did finish with a successful season.
The Bisons had the home field advantage for the tournament after they earned the right by tying for first place in the A-Sun regular season with a 4-1-1 record, 12-4-1 overall. It was the first ever regular season championship for the men’s team since joining the conference.
Not only did the Bisons receive team acknowledgements, but also individual players were recognized by the Atlantic Sun. Senior Luke Gearin was named the Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year, and freshman Ivan Alvarado was Freshman of the Year. The team had five players on the Atlantic Sun All-Conference team.
The Bisons entered the tournament with high expectations based on their season record, but unfortunately they couldn’t pull through. The men lost 3-0 to North Florida who eventually won the tournament championship.
The Bisons matched up against the Ospreys on a freezing evening this past Friday. The weather was easily one of the biggest challenges that each competing team faced during the tournament weekend. Despite the below freezing temperature, fans showed up to support the Bisons and cheer them on.
“The weather was definitely something to deal with for all of the teams,” senior Zander El-Hindi said. “It speaks volumes to us as a team that our fans cheered us on for ninety minutes in twenty-degree weather.”
UNF took the lead early on in the game scoring their first goal only nine minutes in. The Bisons worked hard to catch up and take the lead, but with two recalled goals it seemed that the odds were just genuinely not in their favor. The Ospreys wrapped the game up early on only 25 minutes in, within a 44-second span.
“It is unfortunate that we could not end the tournament holding the championship trophy,” junior Anthony Cedano said, “But the overall season took major strides of success to where we want the program to be on a year to year basis.”
Despite the loss, the Bisons are still proud of the accomplishments that they achieved throughout the season, and are not letting one game define their season.
“We’ve had a great year by making Bison history with one of the best records in the country,” El-Hindi said. “We can’t be too upset about leaving the program on a high note.”
Photo courtesy of lipscombsports.com