The Lady Bisons soccer team (9-4-2, 3-1-1) tied the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (9-4-1, 3-0-1) on Sunday afternoon at Lipscomb Soccer Complex.
The Eagles controlled possession for the first 25 minutes of play and spend a lot of time in the Lipscomb defensive third.
Florida Gulf Coast finally capitalized in the 26th minute with a goal from senior forward Tabby Tindell, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Freshman forward Emilie Olsen assisted.
Lipscomb did not get many chances after that goal and went into the half trailing 1-0.
The Eagles’ dynamic duo came out in the second half and struck again in the 48th minute with a goal from Olsen, extending the Florida Gulf Coast lead 2-0, with Tindell assisting.
The Bisons responded with a well-executed set piece that led to a shot on goal in the 60thminute; however the Eagles’ goalkeeper, freshman Melissa Weck, made a jumping save to preserve the Eagles’ lead, 2-0.
After the Eagles second goal, both teams traded possession, and each kept the other from many quality chances.
Lipscomb then drew a penalty kick in the 76th minute, and redshirt-junior Ellen Lundy cut the deficit 2-1, which gave the Lady Bisons new energy.
“Ellen’s a great target player – she was conference freshman of the year and scoring a ton of goals for us,” Head coach Kevin O’Brien said.
The Lady Bisons pressed the Eagles late in the match, trying to mount a comeback, and with 10 minutes remaining, O’Brien put in his leading goal-scorer, freshman Olivia Doak. The goal made the Lady Bisons hit another gear.
“Yeah, I think we did actually,” O’Brien said. “I felt like the whole second half we pushed.”
Only two minutes later, Weck made another save, hitting away Lundy’s volley.
The Lady Bisons’ sideline erupted as Lipscomb tied the match 2-2 with 1:30 remaining with a header from Lundy, her second goal of the game. The two teams were heading for overtime.
“We needed [Lundy] up top today, and she showed up, and she was unbelievable – she was great,” O’Brien said. “We’ve got a surplus of really talented defenders, and that gives us more flexibility and the ability to put Ellen up top, who is such a weapon with head.”
Lipscomb goalkeeper, Anna Buhigas made a key save just minutes into the overtime period. The teams would remain tied 2-2 after the first overtime and go to a second one.
The two teams traded possession, but neither was able to put in the winner, as the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
“The beautiful thing about this team is they’ve got wonderful character, they never quit, their work never diminishes and that’s a huge strength of ours,” O’Brien said. “A lot of teams would’ve been down-and-out to the conference champions when you’re down two goals, but not us.”
We’re going to give it everything we’ve got, because in the end we’re playing for the glory of God and it’s not about us but about him.”
The Lady Bisons will play USC Upstate on Saturday Oct. 15 at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex at 5:00 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics