NASHVILLE, Tenn - A slow first half proved to be too much to overcome for the Lipscomb men’s soccer team on Sunday afternoon at the Belmont Mafiaoza’s Invitational at E.S. Rose Park in Nashville as the Bisons fell 3-1 to Central Connecticut.

“Obviously this is another disappointing loss,” Lipscomb (2-6-0, 0-0-0 ASUN) head coach Charles Morrow said. “Give credit to Central Connecticut for making good on their chances, I thought they took advantage of their set pieces.”

The Blue Devils (2-4-0, 0-0-0 NEAC) struck in the fourth minute when Thomas Obasi took a corner kick and received a friendly bounce off the turf and into the net. 

“Obviously we have an issue of defending set pieces,” Morrow said. “It is something we have focused on in past weeks and will be something we continue to focus on until we get it right. We have periods where we do well and periods where we struggle. Obviously today was a struggle.”

In the 16th minute, the Blue Devils struck again as Eddy Bogle put a head on the ball, landing perfectly at the feet of Stephen Walmsley, who created space into the right side of the field and fired the 18-yard shot into the net. 

The Bisons had an opportunity in the 41st minute coming off a free kick. On the set-play, Luke Gearin placed the shot off the cross bar, ricocheting back into the field of play. However, the Blue Devil defense cleared the ball away before LU could garner another opportunity on the play. 

Midway through the first half, a misplay from CCSU set-up the Bisons for a golden opportunity. The defense passed back to the goalkeeper and he picked the ball up setting up an indirect free kick from 8-yards out for LU. With the set-play, Luke Gearin had his shot stopped and pushed out of bounds. On the ensuing corner kick, Joey Chiappetta crossed the ball to a waiting Devon Bahadoorsingh who pounded the ball into the back of the net. 

With the score at 2-1 with just under 11 minutes remaining, the Blue Devils tacked on an insurance tally as Walmsley found Reece Wilson to end any hopes of a Bisons comeback. 

“Beyond set-pieces, more than anything it is just the mentality and we need to fix the mentality during those moments in the game,” Morrow said.  

The Bisons return to the pitch on Saturday, Sept. 22 at UAB in Birmingham, Ala. The contest is slated to start at 7 p.m.