Lipscomb blows two-goal cushion, allows four unanswered in first home game defeat
The Lipscomb Bisons (0-2-1) fell to the Georgia State Panthers (3-0-1) 4-2 in a six-goal battle on Wednesday, Sept. 2. This game featured plenty of scoring chances, along with lots of capitalizations on those opportunities.
For the first 10 minutes, possession was dominated by Georgia State, as no real chances came for Lipscomb.
That narrative changed as the Bisons connected on their real chance. A shot from freshman midfielder Tobías Sosa in the 10th minute found the back of the net as Lipscomb drew first blood. From that moment, Lipscomb began to dominate posession and produce the most clean chances near the net.
“The back line was moving and working together perfectly; they were taking their time with the passes and their looks,” said Sam Sheek, a junior at Lipscomb University who was in attendance.
The first half wasn’t done yet, as sophomore midfielder Alejandro Valcarce buried a left-footed strike to the top left corner of the goal in the 30th minute to give the Bisons a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
For a Lipscomb crowd that only saw their team win two games at home last year, the first half provided a glimpse of what this team has the potential to do as the season progresses.
“When they did take a chance downfield, all of the forwards were on top of it. Super selfless soccer,” Sheek said. You really couldn’t have written a better first half for Lipscomb, and for the first time this season, they had multiple goals to their name in a single game.
The second half was a completely different story for both teams, especially for Georgia State. The Panthers came out looking like the team that controlled possession for the first 10 minutes of the match, but this time they had something to show for it. A 50th-minute goal from sophomore defender Kenny Yedmel put the road team on the board and made this a different ball game.
The Panthers answered quickly, but for the 25 minutes, not much happened. The final 15 minutes, however, is where the entirety of the game was turned upside down in the worst way possible for the Lipscomb Bisons.
The equalizer came from graduate student midfielder Sandro Rabarivony in the 76th minute, followed by an absolute rocket off the left foot of freshman forward Emmanuel Amede just three minutes after the Panthers had tied the game.
The dagger for the game was Rabarivony’s second score of the night in the 81st minute, just five minutes removed from his game-tying goal.
The final takeaway was a tale of two halves for Lipscomb. One half saw a team under control, patient, and able to execute the few chances they got. The second half saw patience, but lacked execution, especially in their inability to hold off Georgia State in the final 15.
The Bisons will host Queens University of Charlotte on Saturday, Sept. 5, for the conference opener as they look to put the Panthers’ comeback behind them.
Featured image courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics.
