NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For the second consecutive season, the Jacksonville State soccer team ended a season with a setback to Lipscomb after falling 5-0 on Friday night at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex.

JSU's 2021 campaign came to a close with a loss to the Bisons in the quarterfinals of the 2021 ASUN Soccer Championship. In 2022, it was the regular season finale for the Gamecocks, who end the year at 3-13-2 overall and 1-7-2 in ASUN matches. The Bisons wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the 2022 edition of the ASUN Soccer Championship and will host a quarterfinal contest next week. LU improved to11-5-2 on the season and capped off the regular season with an 8-1-1 league mark.

LU expanded a 1-0 halftime lead with four goals in the second half, including two quick ones coming out of the intermission. The Bisons extended the lead with a pair of goals within a two-minute span after halftime. LU's Grace Oliver and Kale'a Perry netted a pair of shots in the 54th and 56th minute to extend the lead. Marcella Cash and Kendall Wade added insurance goals in the 61st and 72nd minutes respectively. The Bisons posted 13 shots in each 45 minute session to finish with 26 shots on the evening, while limiting JSU to six in the setback.

"We played really good in the first half and we competed really well," said head coach Neil Macdonald. "There were a couple of individual errors that turned the game. They (Lipscomb) are excellent going forward and they wore us down."

Jax State thwarted the LU offensive onslaught in the first 45 minutes with many key stops by the back line along with several saves by freshman goalkeeper Bailey Dean. Dean collected a career-high 11 saves in the match, including seven in the final 45 minutes.

JSU had five different individuals that were credited with a shot attempt, sparked by senior Kimberly McPhearson's two shots off the bench. Senior Cynthia Bagozzi, junior Vanessa Mejia, senior Ali Thomas and freshman Birta Birgisdóttir all had attempts on the goal.

It was a busy final stretch for the Gamecocks as they wrapped up the home slate last weekend with a pair of matches on a Thursday and Sunday, followed by a bus trip on Monday for a rescheduled match with Jacksonville on Tuesday due to Hurricane Ian's impact on the state of Florida in late September. The week ended with Friday's action at Lipscomb.

"Playing four games in nine days definitely caught up with us," added Macdonald.

Friday's match marks the final time in red and white for the large senior class. The class has provided leadership on and off the field for the JSU program and will leave their marks in the program record books. JSU's seniors included Morgan Lerch, McPhearson, Isobel Spray, Gabriel Clarke, Briana Eads, Bagozzi and Thomas.

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