Lipscomb Men’s Soccer (9-5-2, 3-2-1) tied with ASUN opponent No. 20 Florida Gulf Coast (12-3-2, 4-1-1) 1-1 Saturday night at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex in the final regular season game.

The team also celebrated senior night honoring six senior student-athletes: Troy Barr, Micah Bledsoe, Josue Chavez, Shpend Rexhepi, Daniel Vieira and team manager Jared Hensley. These seniors have lead the team to 43 victories over their time, an ASUN Regular Season Championship and three ASUN Academic Championships.

“I am so proud of this group of seniors,” head coach Charles Morrow said. “These young men have fought through adversity and demonstrated their commitment to this program. Witnessing their personal growth over their time here is what truly makes them men of character.”

Senior Goalie Bledsoe broke his thumb during warm-ups and was not able to start as scheduled. Sophomore Chris Zappia started in place of Bledsoe and had seven saves during the game.

“Chris Zappia stepped up and had a great game, and the seniors play today was outstanding,” Morrow noted.

The team came out aggressively and played strong offense for the majority of the game, with 16 shots on the goal.

After a corner kick, FGCU scored the first goal with five minutes left in the first half, leaving the score at half-time 0-1.

The Bisons came out in the second half pushing offense. Within the first sevent minutes, defender Joe Kerridge scored a 30 yard goal tying the game.

During the second half, the Bisons held the nation’s best offensive attackers to no shots but couldn’t pull ahead in double-overtime.

“I think our pressure was outstanding tonight,” Morrow said. “Florida Gulf Coast is a team that throws a lot at you. Attacking wise, there’s a lot of numbers, and there is good quality in those numbers.”

The Bisons tough offensive press allowed them to take several close shots and keep FGCU on their defensive half for the first 20 minutes of the second half.

“Although we would have loved to win and host this weekend, it’s a great way for our guys to finish the regular season,” Morrow said.

With the regular season over, the Bisons move into the post-season prep for the ASUN Championship.

“We are going to rest a lot; playing three games last week at the level we have is extremely taxing,” Morrow said. “They are going to see the ball hit the back of the net a lot in training.”

The team just came off a four game winning streak and will hopefully be able to recover and bring the same intensity and victory to the next game.

“We want to get ready for hopefully a deep post-season run,” Morrow said. “Expect big things.”

The Bisons take the No. 3 seed in the ASUN Championship next week. The team plays No. 6 Stetson in Fort Myers, Florida, Thursday night, and the winner of the match moves on to play No. 20 FGCU in the semifinals.

Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics

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