Playing under much cooler temperatures on Sunday afternoon, the women's soccer team bounced back from a defeat to Mississippi College on Friday evening and posted a 3-0 victory over Delta State University on the Lee Soccer Field. The win improved the Lady Flames to 2-1 in GSC play and 6-2 overall. DSU dropped to 2-2, 2-3-3.
Lee got the only goal they would need in the 23rd minute when junior Riley Henry delivered a perfect corner kick into the box to sophomore Avery Engels who drilled her shot into the lower-left corner of the net. It was her second goal of the year. The two clubs battled to a 1-0 halftime result.
Lee waited until the 80th minute to score again against the stingy Lady Statesmen defense. Henry collected her third goal of the season on an assist from freshman Mallory Hayden. The final goal came at the 84th minute mark. Senior Emma Higgins did the honors on the assist by senior Riley Engels. It was also Higgins third goal of the year.
The Lee defense dominated the contest, allowing Delta State just four shots and Lady Flames keeper Taylor Green turned away the only shot on goal. Lee was efficient with its 12 shots, placing seven on target. Amanda Hilliard had four saves for the Lady Statesmen and took the loss, while Green improved her record to 6-2-0 on the year.
"I was pleased with the result today. Sunday games always present a different challenge because of the short turnaround, but I thought we competed much better today against the well-organized team," said Lee head coach Chris Hennessey.
The coach said he asked the team for a response today and noted they did just that. "We created some good opportunities and I was thankful we were able to finish the game on the front foot," he concluded.
The Lady Flames will return to the pitch for their annual Kickin' It For Kids With Cancer game on Friday, 7 p.m. when they host Spring Hill College. They will face another short turnaround next Sunday when rival West Florida visits for a 1 p.m. showdown.
