Final Score: Lipscomb 1, Kennesaw State 0
Location: Nashville, Tenn. (Lipscomb Soccer Complex)
Records: Lipscomb (13-4-1), Kennesaw State (4-5-6)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Lipscomb women's soccer welcomed the Kennesaw State Owls to the Lipscomb Soccer Complex Sunday afternoon for the second half of the squad's Senior Weekend.
Marcella Cash scored the lone goal of the contest midway through the second half, clinching Lipscomb's ninth conference win and the 2023 ASUN Women's Soccer Regular Season Champion title for the Bisons.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bisons opened the match with a slate of big attacks early in the action, delivering six unanswered shots in the first 15 minutes of action.
KK Pavatt was the first member of the Purple and Gold to travel into scoring territory, logging the first shot of the match just 38 seconds into play.
She returned for a second chance a minute later and
Emanuela Schurch recorded a shot of her own off of Pavatt's blocked shot. The Owls' defenders took to sending long balls back up the field to move Lipscomb's offense out of their zone, but the Bisons soon regained possession and made their way right back up the pitch.
Kiara Pralle was the next to record shots in the contest, putting up a pair of back-to-back shots that were turned away by the Kennesaw State defense.
The Bisons continued to hammer the Owls defense with shots, racking up 11 shots in the first half and only allowing Kennesaw State one shot in the first half until 33 minutes of action had elapsed. Despite a run of aggressive chances for the Bisons late in the first, the match remained scoreless moving into the second half.
Both teams jumped out aggressively into the second half, with the Owls logging the first shot of the half just 15 seconds into the return to play. The Bisons were back on the attack just four minutes into the return to play, logging three shots in just under a minute that were turned away by Kennesaw State's defense.
The Owls showed signs of life with a pair of shots in the next few minutes of action, providing netminder
Sara Kile with the opportunity to step out and make her second save of the match in the 52
nd minute. The Bisons continued to rain shots on the Kennesaw State goal and
Marcella Cash found the back of the net with her fourth shot of the match 76 minutes into action.
Bella Carapazza initiated the play with a stellar rush in the midfield to steal the ball from an Owls forward and sent the ball up the field to
Shelby Craft after making the turn and getting out of danger. Craft drove the play up into KSU's defensive end and sent a pass to Cash on the left side of the Owls' 18-ard box, who then danced around her defenders and sent in a laser of a shot to the top right corner of the net to put the Bisons on the board in the 76
th minute.
The physicality of the second half continued after the Bisons scored and the Purple and Gold continued to hunt for their next goal with big shots from Craft and Pralle, but the score held and their 1-0 victory clinched Lipscomb's 2023 ASUN Women's Soccer Regular Season Champions title.
QUICK FACTS
- The Bisons dominated the match Sunday afternoon, logging 23 shots and holding the Owls to just four shots across the 90 minutes of action.
- Nine Bisons recorded shots in the contest, Kiara Pralle and Marcella Cash led the squad with four shots each.
- Cash's goal stands as her fourth goal of the season and the sixth of her career, making her third on the squad in goals this season behind Kelli Beiler and Kiara Pralle.
HEAD COACH KEVIN O'BRIEN
UP NEXT
The Bisons will conclude their regular season campaign on Saturday, Oct. 21
st when they welcome the Austin Peay Governors to the Lipscomb Soccer Complex for a matchup beginning at 6pm CT.
