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Beiler and Haley Williams
0
Kennesaw St. KSU (1-4-0, 0-1-0)
4
Winner Lipscomb LIP (2-1-0, 1-0-0)
Kennesaw St. KSU
(1-4-0, 0-1-0)
0
Final
4
Lipscomb LIP
(2-1-0, 1-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Kennesaw St. KSU 0 0 0
Lipscomb LIP 3 1 4

Game Recap: Women's Soccer |

Beiler's Hat Trick Lifts Lipscomb Over Kennesaw State In Conference Opener

NASHVILLE - A first half hat-trick by junior Kelli Beiler and a goal from sophomore Molly Grant secured the first conference win of the season for the Lipscomb women's soccer team, as it defeated Kennesaw State 4-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex.

Beiler's hat-trick is the first by a Bison since Allie Dunn recorded one in a 6-0 victory over Southern Illinois on September 19, 2019. It is just the third hat-trick during Kevin O'Brien's tenure as head coach.

The Bisons and Owls played the first half of the match to a 0-0 standstill with neither team earning a real chance for a scoring opportunity until the final 10 minutes of action. That's when the floodgates opened for the Bisons and Beiler took over.

Her first goal came via penalty kick in the 36th minute. Kammy McGee was the one to draw the penalty as she drew the foul on the KSU defender when she made her attacking move inside the 18-yard box and was brought to the ground. Beiler then stepped up and buried the penalty attempt in the lower left-hand corner of the net to put the Bisons in front 1-0.

In the very next minute, Lipscomb was able to gain possession off the restart with McGee finding some room along the far side of the pitch. McGee sent a cross into the box and Beiler made a direct cut towards the incoming pass. Beiler was able to just get her foot on the ball and flicked it past the KSU goalkeeper to increase the Lipscomb lead to two goals.
 
The final goal to complete the hat-trick for Beiler came in the 44th minute by way of a second penalty kick. After the Owls were flagged for a handball inside the penalty box, Beiler was once again called on to take the kick. Similar to her first attempt, she sent the ball into the lower-left corner of the goal marking her third goal in a span of eight minutes.
 
After halftime, the Bisons continued to attack and struck again with Grant netting home her second goal of the season in the 55th minute. Sophomore Logan McFadden dribbled the ball up from her defensive position and delivered a long pass from a few yards back of the midfield line leading Grant to chase down the ball. After beating the KSU defender to the ball, Grant side-stepped the goalkeeper, who left her post to try and control the ball, collected herself and sent her shot into the wide open net.
 
THOUGHTS FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'BRIEN:
"I'm very pleased with the teams performance and the end result of three points in league play. Every healthy player played today and gave us fantastic minutes. They are a great group of women and I'm so very proud of them.

"Conference games are always so hard mentally and physically and this game was exactly that. I am happy that we were able to capitalize on our limited chances against a very strong Kennesaw team.

"We were missing players due to COVID protocol and injury, so it was imperative that other players step up and seize their moment, and that they certainly did.

"This is such a crazy season already with the testing protocols and the ever-changing squad. I keep telling the girls that every game we get to play is a gift and that we need to enjoy every opportunity. From the smiles I saw on their faces today, I think we lived into that truth."

HERD NOTES:
  • Beiler now has four goals on the season, which leads the Bisons.
  • McFadden and McGee's assists were both their first of the year.
  • Goalkeeper Melissa Gray posted her first shutout of the year. She made two saves on the afternoon.
  • 19 players for Lipscomb saw action during the match.
  • Lipscomb out-shot Kennesaw by a mark of 13-9.
UP NEXT:
The Bisons are slated to play their first conference road match against North Alabama on March 4. Kick off from Florence is set for 6 p.m.
 
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