Lipscomb’s men’s and women’s soccer seasons have come to a close after losses in the ASUN semifinals and finals, respectively.
As the two seed in the ASUN tournament, the Lady Bisons received a bye in the first round and defeated Stetson 2-1 in the semifinals. However, the team fell 0-2 to Florida Gulf Coast in the final game.
They finished the season with a record of 12-5-2, a mark that ties last season for the most wins in program history.
Lipscomb also put five players on the ASUN All-Academic Team: Emily Rogers, Ellen Lundy, Brooke Brenner, Maycie McKay and Scholar-Athlete of the Year Natalie DuBoise.
Nominees were required to have at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA and participate in at least 50 percent of their team’s games.
As a team, the Lady Bisons achieved a cumulative 3.69 GPA, the highest mark in the conference and the second-best in all of Division I.
Anna Buhigas claimed the ASUN Goalkeeper of the Year award for the third season in a row, becoming the first player in conference history. She accumulated 91 saves, six shutouts and a 1.08 GPA this season and finished her career with an incredible 376 saves.
Olivia Doak was named ASUN Freshman of the Year with seven goals on the season, and Nimah Rawlins achieved the Defensive Player of the Year award as well.
The ASUN All-Conference First Team featured five Lady Bisons: Buhigas, Doak, Rawlins, Lundy and DuBoise. Maycie McKay was also named Second Team All-Conference.
Lundy, Rawlins and Brooke Brenner were named to the 11-person All-Tournament squad in addition to their regular season achievements.
“It was another fantastic season for the team, filled with more athletic and academic awards than ever before,” said women’s head coach Kevin O’Brien a few days after the final game.
“On one hand, that’s awesome! But, what makes me even happier is the purpose behind why these girls play soccer – to glorify God. They saw every game they stepped on the field as an opportunity to worship Him with their gifts and abilities. They never lost sight of that purpose, and, win or lose, they selflessly loved one another well and more importantly they loved others (opponents, referees, bus drivers, hotel staff, restaurant employees, etc.). That, to me, is the gospel coming alive in sport. That, to me, is what it’s all about.”
The men’s soccer team entered the postseason as the 3 seed after finishing the regular season red hot.
In fact, the Bisons joined North Florida as the only ASUN teams to rank in the top 50 in the RPI standings after a draw with 20th ranked Florida Gulf Coast to end the regular season.
The team defeated Stetson 3-0 in the quarterfinal round of the ASUN tournament but lost 2-3 to Florida Gulf Coast in double overtime in the semifinals.
The Bisons made their 10th consecutive trip to the conference tournament, the longest active streak in the league; however, they have now lost in the semifinals eight times in the last 10 seasons.
Their 10-6-2 record on the season was the second best win total in program history.
Logan Paynter and Scout Monteith were named to the ASUN Academic All-Conference team.
Paynter, Ivan Alvarado and Joe Kerridge were selected as ASUN All-Conference First Team members, and Alvarado became just the 14th player in league history to earn three first team honors.
Ivan Sakou and Scout Monteith were voted to the Second Team, and Austin Eager achieved All-Freshman team honors as well.
Paynter’s 11 goals and 26 points this year are the second most in a single season in program history. His 17 career goals place him at third on the all-time Bisons’ scoring leaders chart as a sophomore.
Alvarado is the league’s active career assist leader with 16 and has now produced at least four assists in all three of his seasons at Lipscomb.
Men’s head coach Charles Morrow said he was proud of the way his team played this season, despite an early end to their record season.
“I am so proud of our team this year,” Morrow commented. “It is unfortunate that our postseason run came up short in the semifinals, but this will go down as one of the best teams we have ever had at Lipscomb. We finished the season with an RPI of 48, which is just out of consideration for an at-large berth.
“Even more encouraging than our success this season is seeing the guys come together as a team. We have plenty of talent to reload for another successful run next year. This team loves each other, loves Lipscomb and is determined and hungry for even greater things next season.”
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics