Final Score: Lipscomb - 0, Tennessee - 3
Location: Knoxville, Tenn. (Regal Soccer Stadium)
Records: Lipscomb (1-1-1), Tennessee (3-1-0)
Lipscomb's road trip to Knoxville ended in a 3-0 loss to Tennessee. The Bisons fought hard in the match against their SEC opponents, but a stellar first-half showing for the Volunteers resulted in Lipscomb's first loss of the season.
Lipscomb started the match off strong, battling back and forth with the Vols in the midfield, neither team finding the opportunity to get a shot off. In her season debut, captain
Alivia Carapazza appeared in her first start of the season and notably applied pressure to Tennessee early in the backfield. The match seemed to be evenly contested by both sides and the Bisons proved early on that they were able to keep up with Tennessee.
The Vols recorded a goal in the 7' minute to swing the momentum their way. Archbold's attempt to block the shot of a Tennessee player ricocheted off her foot, redirecting the ball to the opposite side of the goal of the keeper and resulting in a Volunteer goal. Tennessee took the opportunity to turn the tides, backed by the Rocky Top fans who packed the stadium in support. The two teams continued to attack each other back and forth for the next twenty-odd minutes until the Vols scored again in the 28' minute.
The Bisons attacked the goal several times in the first half, but Tennessee's defense worked to block all four of Lipscomb's shots, allowing only one shot on goal in the first 45 minutes. Conversely, Lipscomb managed to allow only two of Tennessee's eight shots to be aimed on goal, both of which resulted in goals.
The action in the second half started quickly with the Lady Vols scoring in the 52' minute after attempting eight corner kicks to open the half. Tennessee made a sustained effort to keep the ball in their possession and recorded five shots in the seven minutes leading up to their third goal, two of which were saved by keeper
Lauren Swoopes. By the end of the game on the defensive end, the Bisons recorded nine saves on 21 shots from the Lady Vols, 11 of which were on goal. Lipscomb recorded eight saves on Tennessee's 13 shots in the second half.
The team is still in its early development days seeing as it is only the third regular-season game this year. Twenty-two Bisons saw time on the pitch today while the coaches continue to figure out how this team is going to look further down the line The team is still in its early development days seeing as it is only the third regular-season game this year. Lipscomb's identity is still unclear, which is expected of the team at this point in the season.
"The good news is there's lessons to learn and that's what we talked to the team about," Coach O'Brien said in his post-game interview. "Last year we were 0-3 at this point in the season.." "…those losses helped us improve and get better. There's no doubt that this one will too."
Lipscomb will take the field next against Belmont in the highly anticipated Battle of the Boulevard on Aug. 29
th. The Bisons will be hosting the match at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex and the rivalry between the two Nashville schools will kick off at 6:00 PM.
