DELAND, Fla. – Hatter women's soccer gave Lipscomb a tough test but ultimately fell, 1-0, on a bright Sunday afternoon at the Athletic Training Center.
 
"I thought we matched physicality and skill on the pitch with Lipscomb," head coach Chris Bergmann said "Obviously, the goal is to compete and win every time we step on the field, but while I am disappointed with the result, it is not with our play. We battled out there and stepped up today. We needed to finish attacks better and find the net offensively, but defensively we were very solid. From my vantage point, I thought there was an offside on the scoring play Lipscomb had, but it is still on us to be more clinical in the final attack. We'll regroup, take the lessons today and get ready for another strong opponent Wednesday with FGCU."
 
Both defenses were locked in from the opening whistle as both sides generated some attacking presence but neither developing a solid scoring chance until a free kick more than 30 minutes into the match.
 
With a free kick at the edge of the SU defensive third, Lipscomb bombed runners forward and knocked the ball into the box and after a few deflections, Kelli Beiler sent the ball into the mesh after Shelby Craft played it to her, 1-0 to the visiting side.
 
Despite numerous chances in both directions, that was the only marker on the afternoon. Hatter goalkeeper Ashleigh Wise nearly equaled her Thursday career-high performance with 11 saves on the afternoon. Senior Sydney Mckee, and tallest player on the Stetson roster, made a return to the pitch after being day-to-day with an immediate impact of being the best defender in the air.
 
Despite the loss, the Hatters are still positioned for a postseason berth and have performed better against the upper half of the table. Until today's match up with FGCU and Liberty, SU was the only team to take points off the league leaders [Liberty] and holding Lipscomb, second place on the table, to a single goal. An absolutely crucial midweek game for Stetson, against third-place FGCU, and the final regular season match at Kennesaw State now loom extremely large. Florida Gulf Coast will be battling for a hosting position on Wednesday and depending on results Kennesaw may be battling for the postseason on Sunday afternoon.
 
The implications of midweek action will ripple huge on the table, but on advantage the Hatters have is they will have the final match in the regular season. There is four matches Saturday and just Stetson playing at Kennesaw Sunday.
 
Up next, Stetson women's soccer stays in DeLand with the make-up game with Florida Gulf Coast Wednesday night with kickoff at 7 p.m.
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS. Get in on the conversation on social media by following Stetson Athletics on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channels: Stetson Hatters, Stetson Athletics and, for live events, Hatter Vision.