Back-to-back: Bisons roll to ASUN championship, punch ticket to NCAA tourney
Lipscomb women’s soccer secured its second consecutive ASUN championship, defeating University of North Florida 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Bisons took control early, with graduate midfielder Maddy Rhodes scoring from the bottom left corner in the 20th minute, assisted by freshman forward Skylar Cole and sophomore midfielder Tatum Ahlemyer.
Senior forward Lucy Hurst doubled the lead in the 40th minute, and junior midfielder Hailey Johnson sealed the victory with a third goal in the 78th minute, assisted by redshirt sophomore forward Annessa Shively.
Lipscomb goalkeeper Kaïna Cesar earned the shutout with four saves, while North Florida’s Chrissa Avery recorded 10 saves under heavy pressure.
“This is our eighth final. We’ve won five and lost three. I think this group is just continuing a legacy of top-level soccer at Lipscomb University,” said head coach Kevin O’Brien. “I’m just proud of this group for finding goals, and obviously when you do that, it makes it harder for the opponent to have the belief.”
Lipscomb’s offensive execution was dominant, overwhelming the Ospreys’ defense early to build a comfortable lead. The quick goals from Rhodes and Hurst were crucial in allowing the Bisons to control the game’s flow.
“It gave us confidence knowing that we have a two-goal lead. So all we have to do is stand strongly on defense and not let them score,” Hurst said. “I’m so excited. It feels great to win back-to-back.”
The defensive effort was fueled by pure determination. Goalkeeper Kaïna Cesar highlighted the team’s renewed focus at halftime.
“I would say the passion… we talked at the halftime, the captains started, the coaches talked and we were like, guys, we are ready to have it, but we have to keep going and keep working for it,” Cesar said. “And like, shutout… everybody was so on fire for that.”
The final goal from Johnson provided emotional closure to the victory.
“Getting that third goal was just confidence that we had won and this is what we worked for since July,” Johnson said. “It was just such a good feeling and such a relief.”
The atmosphere was amplified by the home crowd. Lippy Lunatics President Tyler Jorden noted the horns “created some animosity in the stands even” and made it one of the louder soccer games of the year.
Captain junior midfielder Bella Carapazza, who was named the ASUN tournament MVP, summarized the historic win.
“It feels really good to go back-to-back, but also get the girls that didn’t have a chance to win last year, you know, get them their experience too,” Carapazza said.
The Lady Bisons will learn their opponent, date and location for the first round during the selection show watch party Monday at 3 p.m. in the Parthenon Hall of Fame Room at Allen Arena.
Featured image taken by Micah Barkley.
