Hitting its stride at just the right time the Lee women's soccer team made it four wins in a row with a 2-1 victory over West Georgia on a rainy Thursday evening from the Lee Soccer Field.
Both teams entered the match riding three game winning streaks and in need of a win to bolster playoff positioning in the upcoming Gulf South Conference Tournament but it was the Lady Flames who controlled things from the start.
Lee struck first in the 24
th minute as Kelsey Yoder delivered the goal from the back post off a beautifully delivered corner kick from Devin Healy. Avery Engels flicked the ball to Yoder to set up the score.
The rest of the first half was dominated by the home team as the Lady Flames held a 10-1 advantage in shots and 5-0 margin in corner kicks.
After several close calls throughout the match senior Mia Hollingsworth punched in her team-leading 11
th goal of the season at the 52:59 mark. Avery Engels posted her second assist of the evening to set up the score. Â
West Georgia cut the lead in half in the 58th minute after Katie Mitchell scored on a penalty kick. Mitchell earned the freebie after Lee keeper Taylor Green came charging in to try and breakup a scoring attempt and was whistled for the foul inside the box.
Green, a junior from Ooltewah, Tenn. was named the GSC Defender of the Week on Tuesday and has allowed just one goal over the four match winning streak.
Overall Lee held a 25-4 advantage in shots and earned nine corners while giving up just one corner to the Wolves in the final minute. Hollingsworth finished with 10 shots and
placed four on mark while Lauren Peters and Devin Healy each registered four shots.
"I think we had real tough middle part of the season with injuries and couple of long trips, it took a lot to collect ourselves to get going again but I think every player has the right mentality and I think we are slowly starting to believe," said head coach Chris Hennessey. "The great thing is we are winning of course but we are playing really well. We created a number of opportunities tonight and answered some adversity in the match and kept fighting."
When asked about the play of Hollingsworth, Hennessey was quick to note, "Last weekend was good for Mia to get back on the field last week after being out with an injury and she put in an incredible shift tonight as did the entire team. The forwards, midfield and defenders were solid tonight and it was a total team effort."
The Lady Flames are now 7-0 all-time against West Georgia.
"I think tonight we were able to connect in the midfield, our defense is incredible and it was so fun to be creative up top it was just a really fun game to play," said junior Riley Engels. "Even after the penalty kick we were set on staying aggressive offensively and not letting them get another chance at scoring."
Wolves sophomore keeper, Jackie Donaldson faced a barrage of shots from the Lady Flames and kept the match close making several lunging saves on the wet pitch. Donaldson finished with 11 saves.
Hennessey's club improves to 10-5-1 overall and 8-4 in the GSC. West Georgia falls to 7-8-2 and 7-5 in league play.
The win puts the Lady Flames in line to host the opening round of the GSC Tournament on Tuesday. Lee is tied with Valdosta State at 8-4 with the Blazers coming to town on
Saturday for a 5 p.m. kickoff to wrap up the regular season. A victory Saturday would secure a home playoff game for the Lady Flames.
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