by Cooper Torrez | Aug 26, 2011 | News Slider, Sports
By: Cooper Torrez The Lipscomb men’s and women’s soccer teams are ready and eager to get back on the pitch. After the long off-season and training, the coaches and players are excited about this year for many different reasons. Lady Bisons senior forward Kristen Heikkinen said, “We had a pretty tough offseason like always. During the spring, we focused a lot on our 3-4-3 formation as well as fitness. This system was new to us last year so we struggled with it some, but I think it could make us really dangerous this year if we play it right.” With the Lady Bisons returning 12 players, it gives players like senior Meghan McGuire, a good feeling about the upcoming season. “Our team chemistry has been amazing from the beginning of preseason,” said McGuire. “Mixing 9 newcomers and 12 returners could’ve been a problem but doing different team activities has helped with our team chemistry both on and off the field.” Heikkinen said returning players could be a huge factor in the Lady Bisons successful season. “Returning players who have started off well include, Kameron Stillwell, Jenna Price, Meghan McGuire, Martika Powe, Katie Wood and Danielle Bethke. All of these girls have been crucial parts of our offense and will continue to be for the season.” Freshman newcomer Brittany Rupple has come in and done a great job at the center back position and could be a player to watch out for to add depth and speed in the midfield. When asked what the team goal is for the season, the answer was the same. “Our main goal and focus...
by Michael Swinea | Apr 6, 2011 | Opinion
Tuesday, March 29, 2010 is a date I will always remember. I won’t remember it for the weather, my classes, or for the Singarama practice I missed—I’ll remember it for being the day that I attended my first international soccer match. The United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) played Paraguay on Tuesday at LP Field, and I was lucky enough to get a ticket and go with seven of my good friends who love both soccer and America. We ordered our tickets on the pre-sale, so our seats were pretty good—12 rows up around midfield—and we had been looking forward to the match for months. On game day, Trey Weatherly, Taylor Ezell, Casey Boyer, Drew Lewis, Alexander McMeen, Bryce Davidson, Garrett Crothers and I all met up outside of High Rise (wearing almost every scrap of USA apparel we owned) to head to McDougal’s for a little pre-game chicken. After filling up, we headed out to LP Field and joined the masses of red, white, and blue just before kickoff. Before I even entered the stadium I knew that this sporting event would have a different atmosphere from the Braves and Titans games I was used to attending. Never have I seen so many crazy costumes for a professional sporting event. Normally, you would just see people wearing a team jersey, shirt or jacket. Here, there were shirts, jerseys, shorts, pants, flags, bandanas and scarves galore proudly displaying the red, white and blue. Like I said before, our seats were fantastic. You could hear the players shouting and the ball hitting against them. It was incredible. The fans around...
by Michael Swinea | Mar 30, 2011 | News Slider, Sports
The first season of intramural indoor soccer at Lipscomb University has just heard its final whistle, and according to intramural coordinator Mike Smith, it could not have gone any smoother. “It all really went without incident,” Smith said. “The only thing that could be seen as a problem was using McQuiddy and having to share it with the student athletes when it rained, but if that happened, we just went to the [Student Activities Center], so it really wasn’t a problem.” The amount of student participation was surprising, considering it was the first year of both the intramural sport’s existence and the addition of imleagues.com. Casey Boyer, a senior information technologies major from Palm Harbor, Fla., and member of the Lady Goats intramural soccer team was surprised by the amount of participation. “Everything turned out great because everyone got to play more games,” Boyer said. Smith was overjoyed by the numbers. “There were 14 teams of seven or eight each, so that makes over 100 people participating in intramurals who wouldn’t normally be participating,” Smith said. Almost all student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive about the addition of indoor soccer to the list of intramural options, he said. In a season dominated by basketball, students were quick to jump onto an alternative. “We just wanted to offer an alternative winter sport to basketball,” Smith said. “But with this huge participation and it only costing us the amount we pay the three referees, it’s really a...
by Hunter Patterson | Mar 28, 2011 | News Slider, Sports
On Tuesday the U.S. Men’s National team will host Paraguay on LP Field at 7 p.m. Today, however, the teams might be practicing on Lipscomb’s campus — at least that’s what the rumor mill is churning out. Sources say that the Paraguay team is practicing on campus today for certain, but no time has been given. There have been no confirmations that the U.S. team will practice here. [Check back later today for photos from the practice(s). If they happen, we’ll have the photos here first!] Last time the U.S. men’s national team visited Nashville, young striker Jozi Altidore scored three goals in the win over Trinidad and Tobago. Altidore, 21, is looking to make more of an impact on the team leading up to the next World Cup. Altidore failed to score in the 2010 World Cup, hosted by South Africa. On Sunday there had been over 20,000 tickets sold for the game in downtown Nashville tomorrow. While that is down from the 2009 World Cup Qualifier of 28,000, those were the numbers that the city was planning on. The U.S. team recently played superstar Lionel Messi’s team from Argentina. The U.S. came from one goal down in the second half to bring the game to a 1-1 draw. Youthful forward Juan Agudelo scored for the U.S. team following a free kick. If you happen to be going to the game, make sure you arrive early. There will be throngs of people downtown, and parking is as bad as ever with the new convention center being built. There’s also a Nashville Predators game downtown tomorrow, which will only...
by Hunter Patterson | Jan 20, 2011 | News Slider, Sports
Miguel DaSilva, a former forward for the Lipscomb Bisons soccer team received three offers to go overseas and play professionally. That is not the story though. The story is where DaSilva chose to go play. DaSilva received offers from Finland, Portugal and his home country Angola. That last offer made his decision a lot easier. He signed with Santos FC of Angola in December and is expected to begin play with the club this month. Miguel first arrived in the states in 2001, just a day before the attacks of 9/11. Since arriving that day, he has not returned back to what he used to call home. “I always knew inside of me that I wanted to go back home once I graduated college,” said DaSilva, who earned his degree in international business last month. “When the deal was offered to me back home, (you) couldn’t imagine how excited I was. My family is there, friends, people that I miss daily and I haven’t seen them for about 10 years. I think that’s the place God wanted me to go.” Although he fought with injuries during his time at Lipscomb, DaSilva still posted 32 goals and 28 assists over four seasons. He tied for the team lead with eight goals last season, became the first Lipscomb player to earn all-region honors, and has prompted his coaches to call him the best player in Lipscomb’s history. Now it’s time to return to where life began, time to reconnect with family he hasn’t seen in a decade. “My mother never really saw me play when I grew up, so that’s one...
