Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ga. – Playing what coach Matt Yelton termed as an excellent performance, the Lee women's soccer team scored its third straight victory and improved to 3-2 on the year with a 4-2 win over Columbus State, a Division II team out of the Peach Belt Conference.
"I thought today was a great demonstration of what a college soccer match should be," said Yelton. "Both teams played a very good style of soccer and any fan of the game would have enjoyed watching the match.
"Columbus State is an excellent team and extremely well coached, so we knew we would have to be at our best to get a good result on the road. Despite the score line, it was a game that really could have gone either way.
"I thought our team's performance was excellent today. We played well at times, but the mission today was to put together a more complete performance. I would have to say after watching the game--mission accomplished."
The Lady Flames opened the scoring at the 19:44 mark when Laura Thacker tallied off a corner-kick assist from Debbie Rogers. Columbus State bounced back and tied the match at 28:47 when Chelsea Person scored on an assist from Kelsey Pelletier. The first-half ended tied at one.
Ten minutes deep into the second half (55:49)Summer Lanter got an assist from Leah Fortune and put the Lady Flames back on top 2-1. The home club bounced right back to tie the match at two less than one minute later (56:10). Nicole Corcione got the goal on Person's assist.
The Lady Flames took control at the 63:45 mark when Kinsey Cichowitz picked up the second assist of the game by Fortune. Thacker came back with less than four minutes remaining (86:43) to tally her second goal of the day. Rogers also registered her second assist.
"Anytime you get a win like this it's tough to point out one performance but the play out of our central midfield was excellent," said Yelton. "Kinsey (Cichowitz), Laura (Thacker) and Debbie (Rogers) were key individuals in allowing us to play with some freedom and they were outstanding with the way they allowed us to keep the ball, plus the play they produced allowed our forwards a lot of time.
"Summer (Lanter) and Leah (Fortune) were also fantastic with their movement and with the understanding that we are starting to develop they are proving to be a very dangerous combination," he added.
The Lady Flames will face another rugged assignment on Thursday when they entertain NAIA power Lindsey Wilson.
"After a tough start we've got our feet back under us," said Yelton. Our schedule doesn't allow us to relax. We can enjoy the win on the bus ride home, but it's back to work and time to get ready for Lindsey Wilson."
