Posting its third straight shutout and the eighth overall blanking of an opponent this season, Lee improved to 7-4-1 overall and 6-1 in Gulf South Conference (GSC) with a convincing 5-0 victory over Delta State University at the Lee Soccer Field on Friday evening.
 
Playing in under perfect soccer condition, the Lady Flames surged to a 2-0 lead by halftime and never looked back. A 4-0 lead by the 66 minute mark allowed coach Matt Yelton an opportunity to insert several of his reserves and get his starters some extra rest as they prepare for another key GSC match with Mississippi College on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
"Sunday is a very big match for us and we need to come back and ready to put in another solid 90 minutes of determination and effort," noted Yelton. Mississippi College dropped a 1-0 decision at Shorter University on Friday evening.
 
Kathryn Healy tallied the first goal 4:34 into the contest for the Lady Flame on a shot from inside the eight, and then came back to collect an assist when Kaela Leskovar picked up a rebound off a saved shot and ripped it into the back of the net. The Leskovar score came in the 19^th minute.
 
"I thought in the overall scheme of things that we had a good showing tonight," stressed Yelton.  "We created a lot of good chances and I thought we came ready to play from the first play of the match. We have struggled a little this year with coming to play right from the start, but tonight we got a good start and played well over the course of the 90 minutes."
 
The margin reached 3-0 in the 63 minute when the ever-present Kinsey Cichowitz drove home a shot from the top of the box to collect her fourth goal of the season on the unassisted play. Less than three minutes later (66:02) Sarah Standley scored the first of her two goals. Picking up an assist from Katie Cloud, Standley lobbed the ball over the keeper's head from the wing.
 
In the 86^th minute Standley came back to tally her second goal of the season when Molly McLaughlin dished off a perfect assist to Standley who sliced her shot through the box.
 
"We are starting to see a lot of our younger players mature and I think that has a lot to do with the leadership of our upperclassmen," concluded Yelton.  "We are still a young team, but I believe we are starting to turn the corner and become a team that is tough to beat. A great deal of that comes down to the effort and hard work that our players are putting into this team. I still believe that our best soccer is still in front of us."
 
The Lady Flames outshot the visitors, 32-2 and dominated by placing 19 shots on goal. Delta State did not have a shot on target against the always tough Lee defense.