The UCA women’s soccer team stumbled out of the Atlantic Sun Conference semifinals 7-0 on Nov. 8 against Lipscomb despite beating the team 3-2 earlier in the conference season.

Coach Jeremy Bishop said he wants to “give Lipscomb a ton of credit.”

“They took it to us today. I thought we came out ready to play but after they put in their first two shots of the match, everything went their way the rest of the day,” he said. “If they can keep that pressure going and shooting percentage going they will be very difficult to beat.”

According to UCA Sports, the Bears (9-7-2, ASUN 8-1-2) were down several players due to injury, leading to a lack of rhythm within the team.

While the Bears made 5 saves throughout the game, the Bisons (14-5-1, ASUN 10-1-1) made zero saves. 

The Bisons made 19 shots, 12 of which were on goal. The Bears made five shots with zero on goal.

Lipscomb scored its first two goals at six and nine minutes.

The Bisons attempted another shot at the 10-minute mark, but junior goalkeeper Lenja Kenstel saved the ball.

The Bisons made their third goal in the 26th minute, with another attempt saved by Kenstel a minute later.

The Bisons made the last goal of the first half at the 42-minute mark, leading the game 4-0.

In the first half the Bears only managed one shot, attempted by freshman defender Ashlyn May.

In the second period, the Bears saw more opportunity for shots but had little to show for it. 

In the 49th minute, Freshman midfielder Sophia Backstrom made a shot but missed.

This was followed by two goals from Lipscomb — one at the 53-minute mark and the other at the 64th minute.

In the midst of the two Bison goals, senior midfielder Kelly Van Gundy attempted a shot in the 63rd minute, but it went out right.

Sophomore forward Caroline Billings made a shot at the 68-minute mark. This was followed by four player substitutions on each team. 

UCA went for a corner kick in the 69th minute but fell short of the opportunity to score a goal. 

Within the same minute, the Bisons were able to run the ball to their side of the field, successfully scoring the last goal of the game, putting the teams 7-0.

Lipscomb attempted another shot in the 79th minute, but Kenstel managed to save it.

In the last minute of the game, UCA freshman forward Jama Akpanudo attempted a final shot but missed the goal.

Lipscomb went on to win the ASUN finals 3-0 against Eastern Kentucky University at the conference hosted by Florida Gulf Coast University. This was Lipscomb’s fourth ASUN championship, giving them the opportunity to play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament.

As for UCA, Bishop said, “It was a great season.”