NASHVILLE, Tenn - The Lipscomb Bisons earned their fifth Atlantic Sun Men's Soccer Championship, and third in a row, after a 1-0 victory against the Bellarmine Knights.
In the first 45 minutes of action, Lipscomb got off to a fast start as the Bisons' Malachi Jones took the night's first shot but came up short of the net. Juan Carlos Rodriguez got on top of a shot by BU's Ben Griffis for the Bisons' first save of the night. Lipscomb was awarded a penalty kick in the 14th minute that was shot by ASUN Player of the Year Tyrese Spicer. Spicer put a solid shot on goal but was denied by Knights keeper Tudor Iordan. In the 24th minute, Bellarmine's Calle Sjoberg took a shot off a free kick following a Lipscomb handball that went over the top of the goal. The Bisons finaly found the back of the net in the 39th minute of action after Championship MVP Javanne Smith scored off the assist from Malachi Jones. The goal was Smith's ninth of the season with Jones tallying his 12th assist.
In the second half, Lipscomb's Ploutarchos Alonefti got the first shot off for the Bisons which was followed by another look from George Macready that was saved by Iordan. In the 73rd minute, Rodriguez was given a red card for touching a ball outside of the box leaving the Bisons down to 10 players. Harrison Gough stepped between the pipes for the Bisons and quickly registered his first save off a shot from the Knights' Jack Fischer. Despite playing a man down, Lipscomb's defense buckled down and held on for the shutout and the league title.
The 1-0 final score in Saturday's contest is the lowest in a championship final since 2014. The Bisons' victory breaks their tie with FGCU for the most league titles won by active members. Lipscomb is now tied with Georgia State for the most ASUN Championships by a program in the conference history which dates back to 1979. The Bisons also became the fourth program to win three league titles in a row.
Lipscomb has earned the league's automatic qualifier and represents the ASUN in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Bisons await the selection show on Monday, Nov. 12, to see who they face in the first round of the College Cup.
All-Tournament Team
Javanne Smith, Lipscomb (MVP)
Nick Dang, Lipscomb
George Macready, Lipscomb
Daniel Stampatori, Lipscomb
Brock Pope, Bellarmine
Brendan Schoemehl, Bellarmine
Alex Halevy, Bellarmine
Jerry Gutierrez, Central Arkansas
Deon Travis, Central Arkansas
Afonso Conde, Stetson
Alvaro Gabancho, Stetson