NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In front of an announced crowd of 1,214 Friday night at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex the Lipscomb men’s soccer team provided a show no one who watched would likely forget.

After going down 2-0 in the first half the Bisons connected on four goals in a 25-minute span to knock off the Memphis Tigers 4-3 and win the Seventh Annual Hyatt Place Select Lipscomb Invitational.

“Obviously we didn’t like our start, going down two goals early,” Lipscomb coach Charles Morrow said. “All three of the goals we gave up were tough. Sometimes lightning strikes and tonight it felt like it struck three times.

“A credit to our guys is that they were resilient and never gave up. That shows the belief they have in one other and it is a great thing to see.”

The win improves Lipscomb to a school-best 6-1-0 through the first seven games of a season. Memphis falls to 3-2-1 with the defeat.

In the 12^th minute Memphis caught a break after a Hector Cantele shot struck the crossbar and deflected off the goalie into the net to go up 1-0.

The Bisons allowed Raul Gonzalez to dribble through the defense and place an 18-yard shot on goal to put the Tigers two goals up in the 32^nd minute.

Morrow made just one substitution in the first half but he made it count.

The injection of freshman Jonathan “Buddy” Ramirez gave Lipscomb the spark it needed in the 37^th minute when the newcomer took a pass from Anthony Cedano and drilled his first career goal and cut the lead to 2-1.

“Buddy has been a spark for us,” Morrow said. “We expected him to be a big part of our success and knew it was just a matter of time before he got a grip on the college game.

“But from what we have seen of late, he has a grasp on it, I think, and has done an unbelievable job for us. “

Just before the break junior Josue Chavez found an equalizer from inside the box eight yards out. Cedano was on the front end of the score for his second assist of the game.

Memphis struck again just three minutes into the second half on the foot of Gonzalez once again, this time from 20 yards out.

In the 59^th minute with the Bisons searching for an equalizer Ramirez played a ball to Matt Kerridge in the box to knot the game 3-3 and swing the momentum back in favor of the home-standing Bisons.

At the 61:50 minute mark freshman Ivan Alvarado found Chavez 10 yards out and set him up to serve the game-winner.

In the waning seconds the Tigers had one final chance, but laid the ball just outside the left post to secure a first-ever win for Lipscomb in the series, 6-1.

Freshman Nate Davis improved to 4-0 in goal for Lipscomb. He collected four saves in the match.

“It was good to be at home and playing in front of our crowd,” said Morrow. “It was great to see the support from the social clubs around campus tonight.

“I can’t overstate how much the fans support mean to us and the players feed off of that. We are going to need that in the upcoming games and for the rest of the season, so we want to say a big thank you to those who came and to please come back!”

 

QUICK KICKS:

• Lipscomb wins the Lipscomb Invite for just the second time in its seven years of existence. The only other win game in the inaugural game in 2008.
• Memphis outshot Lipscomb 13-11. It marks the fourth time the Bisons have pulled off the win when being outshot.
• After attempting 10 corner kicks Wednesday Lipscomb took just three Friday.
• Kerridge scored his fourth goal of the season to tie Luke Gearin for the team lead.
• Ramirez scored his first career points (3) in the win.
• Chavez now has six career goals. The three he has in 2014 are a single-season high for him.
• Eight different Lipscomb players have now recorded a goal and eight have recorded an assist.
• Lipscomb has now outscored its opponents 18-10 this season.
• The 18 goals are the most in school history through the first seven games of a season.

 

UP NEXT:

Lipscomb will have a chance to get some rest after competing in back-to-back tournaments. They take to the pitch again Sept. 26 for a 7 p.m. match up with Georgia State.