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Jose Orellana got things going for the Lee Flames as he scored in the closing minutes of the first half to help propel the Flames to a 3-0 victory over Delta State on a warm Friday night from the Lee Soccer Field.

After being held scoreless the previous two matches the Flames broke through as Orellana weaved through defenders and slipped a shot past the keeper to give Lee the advantage at the intermission.

"We've struggled to score goals this season even though we've had some good chances. Tonight was the same, we had some good chances early but I was happy to see us convert some goals tonight," said head coach Derek Potteiger. "I was glad to see Jose get that goal because I thought he was playing so well out there for us tonight and was the most dangerous player on the field."

From there the Flames tallied two second half goals as Freshman Jared McWhorter scored his first career goal on a powerful boot from 40 yards out in the 73^rd minute.

Just seven minutes later it was Samaan Williams putting the contest away as he fired a shot off the keeper's hands and in from 35 yards away at the 79:10 mark.

Tristan Putnam registered his third clean sheet on the year and has allowed just three goals in five matches in net for the Flames. The senior had two saves in the match and leads the conference in save percentage (.900) and saves per game (5.4). Sophomore Dan Hrenko worked the final eight minutes in goal.

The aggressive Flames held a commanding 20-7 advantage in shots and placed eight on target.  Delta State was limited to just three shots on goal.

"I love the formation and the way we are playing right now," said Orellana after the match. "I was glad I could get that goal to help get us going. We haven't scored in a couple of matches but everyone has been working hard and we had really good practices so we are very happy with this result."

The Statesmen were forced to play the final 19 minutes a man down after they had a player shown a red card.

Harvey Stevens was credited with five saves for the Mississippi club as he faced a constant pressure from the Lee attack.

The Flames improve to 2-1-2 on the season and are off to a 1-0 start in Gulf South Conference play. The Statesmen fall to 2-2-1 on the year and are 0-1 in league play.

Lee will now gear up for a match with Mississippi College on Sunday at 4 p.m. to wrap up the first conference home stand of the season. The Choctaws defeated Shorter on Friday night, 4-0 and are 4-0-1 on the season.