Lipscomb scored two goals in the first half and held off a determined rally from USC Upstate to take a 2-1 victory over the Spartans Sunday afternoon in A-Sun men's soccer action. The win advanced the Bisons into the A-Sun Tournament, while it ended Upstate's hopes of a postseason berth.
"I certainly thought we played much, much better in the second half," said Upstate head coach Greg Hooks. "We had a lot of young players on the field the whole season and this was a great experience for them to play a match that meant something. I told our team that if we play every game the way we did in the second half today, we will be okay."
For the second time in the last three home games, the stadium field at County University Soccer Stadium was deemed unplayable due to the amount of rain that the field has taken and the game had to be moved to practice field No. 2 across the street from the Louis P. Howell Athletics Complex.
After the teams battled to gain momentum for more than 10 minutes, Lipscomb broke through with a goal in the 13th minute. Garrett McLaughlin gained control of a loose ball in the middle of the field 30 yards out and played a through ball to Evan McGee at the top of the box. McGee took a couple of touches before hitting the shot into the back of the net for a 1-0 Bisons lead.
The lead remained 1-0 for Lipscomb until late in the half. Again, a loose ball was collected by the Bisons, this time by Garrett Pettis, who lifted a pass over an Upstate defender and to the feet of Miguel DaSilva inside the box. DaSilva put the shot away from the left side to give Lipscomb a 2-0 lead with 49 seconds remaining in the half.
While a 2-0 deficit is tough to overcome in college soccer, Upstate had no intention of quitting. The Spartans came out of halftime with renewed enthusiasm and scored just over eight minutes into the half. With the defense pushed up, Nick Buxton gathered the ball some 45 yards out and played a through ball to Maurice Beggs who put the shot away from 13 yards out to get Upstate with a goal, 2-1, in the 54th minute.
Upstate continued to battle to get back into the game. However, Lipscomb was able to hold off the Spartans. Upstate made a late push with under five minutes to play, getting off two shots in the waning moments. Lipscomb, though, was able to hang tough and held on for the win.
Lipscomb held the advantage in shots for the game, 16-13. The Bisons put seven of their 16 shots on goal, while Upstate placed four of its 13 shots on frame. Upstate goalkeeper Pat Regna made five saves on the day, while Lipscomb keeper Brent McGee tallied three.