The men’s soccer squad scored a 4-2 victory against its school rivalry, Belmont, on Monday night in front of an energetic crowd at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Bisons and improved their record to 3-2-0 on the season.
Although the annual “Battle of the Boulevard” match was highly anticipated, Coach Charles Morrow said he wanted to treat it just like any other game.
“Getting back on the right side of things and putting in a good performance was most important,” Morrow said. “It’s not that we downplayed the rivalry because this game is always special, but tonight was more about us taking a step forward as a group and trying to get ready for conference play.”
The Bisons struck early and often in the match. Freshman Javier Leija converted a header on a beautiful cross from sophomore Logan Paynter in the 12th minute, and Lipscomb extended the lead to 2-0 just one minute later when junior Ivan Sauko found the back of the net.
Belmont seemed to be back in the game when the Bruins’ Stephen Bailey snuck a header in the top-left corner of the goal early in the second half, but Lipscomb quickly answered when senior Josue Chavez found senior Daniel Vieira, bringing in another goal for the Bisons in the 51st minute.
Paynter then tacked on an insurance goal for the Bisons with a dart from the right-side in the 83rd minute. Belmont’s Elliot Jones added a score in the 87th minute, but it was too little too late for the Bruins.
Lipscomb dominated in every facet of the game Monday night, winning in corner kicks (9-3), shots (22-8) and shots on goal (12-6).
“Defensively as a group there’s definitely some things we need to clean up,” Morrow said. “But I was really happy with some of the things we did attacking. Belmont has a really good goalie, and honestly, we could have won by more if it wasn’t for him.”
Coach Morrow was encouraged by the trajectory of his his team as they approach the all-important conference season.
“I really like this group, not just in terms of their talent, but in their willingness to put in the work and put the team first,” Morrow noted. “The guys had fun tonight, and that just breathes energy and helps us defensively. If we can keep doing that I really think the results will take care of themselves.”
The Bisons will travel to SIU-Edwardsville this Thursday before starting conference play at home against Stetson next Wednesday night.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics