Bison soccer team clinches first-ever berth in A-Sun Tourney
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The Lipscomb Bisons beat Florida Gulf Coast 2-0 Friday night on the road in Fort Myers, Fla., to clinch their first-ever berth in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
"Last year was a huge disappointment for us because from a talent standpoint we felt like we were good enough to be there," Lipscomb coach Charles Morrow said. "But we didn't play to our potential.
"For us to have gone on this run speaks a lot to our players. They are happy. But they understand it is more to the Atlantic Sun Tournament than just making it."
It was the fourth straight Atlantic Sun win for the Bisons, also a school record.
The Bisons played a tough non-conference schedule and paid the price with a 1-5-1 non-conference record.
"We used those learning experiences and still believed in what we could do," Morrow said. "You can schedule that way, but it is all about how the players take it.
"You get a few losses and start doubting yourselves, especially if you had a few seasons like our seniors have had. They could have said it is the same old thing. I think it felt different to them because we were losing games to good teams and we were very competitive."
The Bisons got help from young and old. Freshman forward Miguel DaSilva scored at the 1:50 mark and senior forward Ben Page added the second goal at 27:39 of the first half with an assist from senior midfielder Kevin Terry.
"It probably should have been 4-0 in the first half," Morrow said. "We didn't play well in the second half. I'm disappointed in that."
DaSilva's goal highlighted both his speed and his ability to play defense from the forward spot.
"It was just a hustle play," Morrow said. "They had the ball and we were pressuring them. They couldn't go forward because of our pressure. So they played the ball back to their goalkeeper to clear it out. DaSilva tracked it and got close enough to have the ball bounce off his foot and into the goal.
"Miguel causes problems for the other team with or without the ball. He can run down defenders and put pressure on the ball."
The goal by Page was a classic play.
"It was a header but it was more of flick as he redirected the ball into the goal," Morrow said. "It was a great goal."
Senior goalkeeper Jake Goergen made three saves for the Bisons as he got the shutout. It was Goergen's third shutout of the season.
Sunday, the Bisons traveled to Jacksonville where they tied Stetson 3-3. The Bisons have clinched their first berth in the Atlantic Sun Tournament. They are 5-6-3 overall, 4-1-2 in the conference.