Despite several scoring opportunities late in regulation and throughout the overtime periods the Lee men's soccer team was forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with Delta State on a picture perfect Sunday afternoon at the Lee Soccer Field.
The Flames dominated the contest from a statistical perspective as they outshot the Statesmen 28-13 and earned nine corner kicks to just three for the Mississippi club but were unable to find the elusive go-ahead goal.Â
Lee freshman net minder Daniel Hrenko tallied four saves in the contest including a lunging save late in the overtime period to preserve the tie. Hrenko is now 8-2-2 on the year.Â
"This is a game where you find out just how cruel the game of soccer can be because we had several chances but couldn't finish them off," said head coach Paul Furey after the match. "We hit the post early on and we really maintained control of the match but soccer can be a weird game in the sense that doesn't always guarantee a win."
A valiant effort by Delta's goalkeeper, Jacob Hauenstein kept the Statesmen in the match as he tallied eight saves while allowing just the one goal. "He really made some nice saves and credit Delta State for earning a point on the road," acknowledged Furey.
Zachary Breaux got the scoring started in the 29th minute for Delta State scoring on a header off a cross from Andrew Aur.
The Flames responded at the 67:26 mark as senior captain David Perez rather fittingly scored his ninth goal of the season on Senior Day to knot things up at 1-1. Jake Molony and Jose Orellana set up the strike and were credited with the assist.Â
Perez was the GSC player of the Year last season and Lee's first NCAA All-American. The forward from Dalton, Ga. ends is brilliant four-year playing career at the Lee Soccer Field with 39 career goals.
"Our seniors have been great all year and really compete and come up big so I was glad to see DP (Perez) score that goal for us. They all have truly been the heart and soul of this team," concluded Furey.Â
The physical battle saw 21 fouls called on the Statesmen and 11 whistled on the Flames. Four yellow cards and one red card were also shown.
The Flames are now 9-5-2 on the year and 4-2-2 in the GSC with a visit to Shorter on Friday remaining on the regular season schedule. Delta State sits at 5-10-1 and 1-7-1 in the league.Â
Lee is currently fifth in the GSC standings. The top six teams advance to the conference tournament. Seeds one and two earn a first round bye to the semifinals on Nov. 4-6. Â Seeds three and four will host five and six on Tuesday, Nov. 1.
"We'll be ready to bounce back against Shorter on Friday and hopefully that will put us in a better position for the (GSC) tournament," Furey said.
Prior to the contest the Lee men's soccer team held a ceremony to honor four-year starters, Arturo Rocha, Rob Cutchin, Quade Marinell and Perez.
