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Last Friday, Sept. 1, the Asbury 2023 fall sports season kicked off with womens’ soccer hosting Hanover College. Mens’ soccer, volleyball, and cross country all hit the road to begin their seasons.

Womens’ soccer

Asbury women’s soccer opened up their 2023 season in Wilmore on Friday night against Hanover College. Despite impressive play from Asbury junior Maliya Crump, Hanover took an early lead that carried them into taking a 5-0 win over AU. Crump would end the match with six saves for the Eagles.

“Hanover is a solid team and well coached. We were able to dictate in moments of the match but needed to find and build more consistency. That comes with playing against tough opponents but also building the confidence of our players. We have only played one game, and I am excited to see how this group continues to grow and develop throughout this season,” said head coach Zach Welsh

Mens’ soccer

The Asbury men’s soccer team traveled to Louisville on Friday night to compete in the JR Hoe Invitational.

They opened their 2023 season with a tight road matchup against Spalding, finishing in a 3-3 draw. Nick Eller, Yousef Ismail and Austin Dunlap all found the back of the net for Asbury.

The team would return to Louisville and take on Centre College on Sunday afternoon. There was 87 minutes of scoreless soccer until Centre scored in the 88th minute. Centre held on with their late goal, leading them to their first win of the season, taking Asbury to 0-1-1.

Volleyball

AU Volleyball hit the road Friday and Saturday to begin their season in the Berea Invitational. They took on the University of Lynchburg in their first match. The match would go all five sets with Asbury prevailing in the 5th set, 15-11. On Saturday, they went up against Wooster College and Berea College. They would split the day, falling to Wooster in four sets and sweeping Berea in three. Emma Grace Gray had 19 kills and 28 digs combined on the day.

Cross country

On Friday evening, the cross country teams traveled to Berea to compete in the Cross Country Jamboree. This season-opening meet is always contested on slightly shorter courses than standard distances. The 4-kilometer women’s race and 6-kilometer race are rarely run. Still, Asbury runners Bailey Gassmann and Cameron Tapp took advantage of the opportunity to establish new Asbury school records for women and men, respectively. The women finished fifth out of six teams and the men would finish fifth out of eight.

“Bailey and Cam ran well tonight. I was especially excited for Cam. He has been in-and-out of the training room and physical therapy for two years, and tonight finally got a chance to show what he can do with a consistent stretch of training,” said head coach Randy Crist

Lex Clinic Athletes of the Week

Cameron Tapp and Megan Walden are our Lex Clinic Athletes of the Week. Tapp set a men’s school record in the Cross Country Jamboree last Friday. Walden had a career-high on Saturday with 13 kills against Berea College in a 3-0 win.

Asbury Eagles Next Up

Womens’ soccer

Asbury vs. Franklin College Sept. 8, 4 p.m.

Mens’ soccer

Asbury vs. Greenville University Sept. 8, 7 p.m.

Volleyball

Asbury at Sewanee Invitational Sept. 8-9