Bisons headed to A-Sun Tournament

by Ryan Hilgemann

November 3, 2012

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Lipscomb men’s soccer only needed a tie to get into the Atlantic Sun Tournament. Junior Tyler Burkhardt did one better and headed the Bisons to victory in their fifth straight overtime match.

Scoreless through regulation, Burkhardt headed a Ryan Savitsky pass into the near post, just 21 seconds into overtime at Northern Kentucky on Saturday afternoon. The goal was Burkhardt’s first of the season.

“It was a great team effort today,” Lipscomb head coach Charles Morrow said. “We came in with a belief that we could come away with a win.”

The Bisons improve to 6-11-1 overall, two wins better than last season, and 3-4-1 in A-Sun play. The first year NCAA Division I Norse drops their overall record to 7-9-1 and 4-2-1 in the loop.

Lipscomb played tentatively in the first half, allowing the Norse eight shots compared to three for the Bisons. The Purple and Gold reversed the trend in the second to carry the momentum into the overtime period.

Burkhardt and freshman Josue Chavez each had two shots for the Bisons as they placed six of nine shots on goal.

Morrow was impressed with different players stepping up today.

“With several normal starters missing, we had several guys step up,” Morrow said. “We have had plenty of experience in overtime this season and that served us well today.”

Bisons junior goalkeeper John Schnurbusch made four saves in the shutout while counterpart A.J. Fleak made five saves for the Norse.

Lipscomb now awaits the final of USC Upstate versus ETSU to find out what its seed will be in the A-Sun Championships. An USC Upstate loss or draw will give the Bisons the No. 4 seed while an Upstate win gives the Bisons the No. 5 seed. That contest is slated to begin at 6 p.m. (CST) Saturday night.

“We are happy to be in the conference tournament for the sixth year in a row,” Morrow said. “We are looking forward to seeing what we can do there.”

Stay tuned to LipscombSports.com for full coverage on the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships.