Lipscomb soccer takes home Battle of the Boulevard trophy in overtime victory

The Battle of the Boulevard is routinely one of the biggest games of the year for all Lipscomb and Belmont sports teams. The heated rivalry often leads to physical, heated matches, and this incarnation was no different. In front of the home crowd, the Bisons earned a hard-fought victory in their first game of the season against the rival Bruins 3-2. Senior and captain Luke Gearin, recently voted the pre-season A-Sun Defensive player of the Year, put away the game-winning goal off of a penalty kick in the second half of overtime. Fellow senior and A-Sun pre-season Player of the Year Omar Djabi drew the foul that earned the penalty kick with three minutes to go in the second overtime period. The high-scoring affair began with a goal from junior forward Zach Tarbox fifteen minutes into the game, followed by a Belmont equalizer from sophomore forward AJ Arnold late in the first half. Belmont sophomore keeper Grayson Rector and Lipscomb sophomore keeper Micah Bledsoe made back-to-back key saves for their respective squads early in the second half. Ten minutes into the second half Lipscomb junior midfielder Josue Chavez rocketed a shot in from outside the box to give the Bisons a 2-1 lead. Senior Bruin midfielder Rashad Hyacenth fired in an impressive shot of his own halfway through the second half to tie the game at two apiece. photo courtesy of Lipscomb...