Final Score: Idaho State 1, Lipscomb 0
Location: Nashville, Tenn. (Lipscomb Soccer Complex)
Records: Idaho State (1-3-0), Lipscomb (1-1-2)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Lipscomb women's soccer team sought to redeem themselves at home after their bout with the SEC's Mississippi State as they welcomed the Idaho State Bengals to the Lipscomb Soccer Complex on Sunday. However, the Bisons stumbled against their Big Sky Conference opponents and fell in a 1-0 loss to their foes, despite a 17-6 shot count in Lipscomb's favor.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Both teams came out of the gate at full tilt, pushing hard to earn the upper hand in the early minutes of the match. Redshirt senior
Cami Rogers opened the shot count for the match with a shot that missed the mark to the far right of the goal.
About thirty seconds after the six-minute mark, the Bengals earned a free kick with a foul from
Kale'a Perry and as the shot sailed towards the Lipscomb goal, an errant header from the Bisons put Idaho State on the board.
The Bisons put in a tremendous effort to even up the scoring with a total of nine shots for the Purple and Gold in the last six minutes of the first half.
Things started to heat up in the second half as the two squads battled through the blazing temperatures in Nashville.
Kale'a Perry logged two shots in the second half for the Bisons, both of which went wide to the right of the net.
Redshirt junior
Grace Oliver put up a shot on target for the Bisons in the final minute of play, forcing Bengals keeper Kylee Atkins to make a save to hold on to Idaho State's lead.
QUICK FACTS:
- Lipscomb outshot Idaho State 17-6, with a 12-3 differential in the first half
- The Bisons put four shots on target, compared with the Bengals' two
- Six Bisons logged two shots against the Bengals: Cami Rogers, Kale'a Perry, Molly Grant, Grace Oliver, Lydia Hindt, and Sumer Ellmore
- Graham stood between the posts for the Bisons and collected two saves in the contest
HEAD COACH KEVIN O'BRIEN:
"It was a tough game. Disappointing from our standpoint, for sure, to concede on an own goal so early. It just kind of changed up the dynamic of the game. Credit to Idaho State, they defended really well. We had lots of territory and lots of chances. We've got to be better and that was my message to the team after the match.
I felt like today, unfortunately, players were trying to do it by themselves. I think we have a lot of individual talent, but, at the moment, our team isn't playing as well as we can as a team. That's my job as a head coach is – to get it figured out and that is what we're working on this week.
Thankfully, we've got a longer week with a Friday match so we can train. That's one of those things that you don't get a lot of in college soccer – the opportunity to actually practice together and work on those things you need to develop as a coach. So, I'm thankful we've got a long week and we've got a lot of work to do."
UP NEXT:
Lipscomb will return to their home pitch to take on the Alabama State Hornets on Friday, Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. CST.
