CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – McKenzie Bricker's corner kick in the 82
nd minute deflected off a defender and found the back of the net to give the Lee University women's soccer team a 4-3 upset victory over 13
th-ranked University of North Georgia Friday evening. The Lee season-opener was contested on the campus of Boyd Buchanan School.
The Lady Flames (1-0) return to action Sunday afternoon against Rollins College. The non-conference matchup is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff at the Lee Soccer Field.
North Georgia (0-1) scored the first two goals of the match via penalty kicks. The first was converted by Renee VanHorn with 17:49 off the clock. Taylor Malasek added a second goal 42 seconds into the second half.
"I cannot put into words how good the second half was for us," admitted Lee head coach Chris Hennessey. "We had to make some adjustments at halftime and it took us about 10 minutes in the second half to figure out what we were trying to do. I think we got the goal at the right time. It gave us hope with about 25 minutes to go. From there the girls just picked the momentum up."
Summer Lanter broke up the Nighthawks' shutout bid in the 64
th minute. The senior gathered a pass from Mia Hollingsworth and beat the goalkeeper one-on-one. A little over eight minutes later, Devin Healy curled a shot into the upper-right corner from over 30 yards out to even the score at 2-2.
North Georgia regained the lead with a goal by Brynn Finneran in the 74
th minute. Malasek tallied the assist.
Lee responded less than four minutes later. Kelsey Yoder converted the match's third penalty kick with 12:57 remaining to even the score at 3-3.
Haley Gribler was credited with the win in goal. Gribler recorded three saves, but none were bigger than the one recorded with the game tied 3-3 and 11:41 left in the second half. Gribler was left one-on-one with Malasek, came out from the goal and denied the goal-scoring opportunity.
The Lady Flames outshot North Georgia 17-10 and placed nine shots on goal, while UNG put six shots on frame.
