Early lead slips away as Bisons battle Jacksonville to 2-2 draw
The Lipscomb women’s soccer team opened its conference slate on Thursday night, battling Jacksonville University to a 2-2 draw at Southern Oak Stadium. The Bisons built a commanding two-goal advantage early in the ASUN opener, but a resilient Dolphins squad fought back to split points.
Lipscomb could not have asked for a better start, stunning the home crowd with two goals in the opening seven minutes. In the 4th minute, junior midfielder Tatum Ahlemeyer opened the scoring by burying a pass from freshman forward Kinsley Whitecavage. Just three minutes later, Ahlemeyer turned provider, setting up sophomore midfielder Abigail Ross in the 7th minute to quickly push the Bisons’ lead to 2-0.
Jacksonville refused to fold and began shifting momentum midway through the half. The Dolphins got on the board in the 27th minute following an unfortunate Lipscomb own goal that cut the deficit in half. Ten minutes later, Jacksonville found the equalizer when sophomore forward Julia Delprat capitalized on an assist from junior defender Lina Ballmann in the 37th minute to tie the match 2-2 heading into the break.
The second half turned into a defensive chess match, with both goalkeepers anchoring their respective units. Lipscomb junior goalkeeper Sundell “Sunnie” Woodard kept the Bisons alive during tough stretches, making three crucial saves on the night.
Lipscomb mounted a furious offensive push in the final ten minutes of the match to try and secure a winner. Junior forward Katie Brightwell fired back-to-back shots on target in the 84th and 85th minutes, but Jacksonville junior goalkeeper Taylor Gardner made multiple spectacular saves to preserve the tie. Gardner finished the evening with five saves.
The Bisons outshot the Dolphins in the closing minutes of the game, including late misses from freshman midfielder Olivia Strong and Ross, but were ultimately forced to settle for the road draw.
Lipscomb will look to bounce back on Sunday, Sept. 27, when they wrap up their Florida road trip against the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
Featured image courtesy of Jacksonville Athletics.
