A goal by Riley Henry at the 7:58 mark of the second overtime gave the Lee women's soccer team a huge 1-0 win over 24th-ranked West Alabama on a cool Friday night at the Lee Soccer Field. The winning shot was delivered into the box by an excellent pass from Carly Smoltz. Henry drilled her shot into the lower left corner of the net for her seventh goal of the year and it was Smoltz's third assist.
"I thought it was a whole team effort this evening. I was looking for a response after last weekend and we got that," said Lee head coach Chris Hennessey. "We knew it was going to be a tough game but our girls hung in there and pushed forward all the way. It was a true testament of their character."
The victory improved the Lady Flames record to 8-2 GSC and 12-3 overall. The loss dropped the Tigers to 8-2-1, 10-4-1. Lee will have very little time to recover from the physical battle, returning to the Lee Soccer Field on Sunday at 1 p.m. and hosting Alabama Huntsville. "We have to be ready to go with the same intensity against Huntsville," stressed Hennessey.
Coach Hennessey gave credit to his midfielders who he said worked exceptionally hard. The Lady Flames strong defense, led by Avery Engels, Lauren Weimer, Julia Kaset, Kate Dirkse and Anna Lanter, held the Tigers to only four shots the entire evening.
However, all four were on goal, but the always reliable keeper Taylor Green picked up four saves to post her 11
th shutout of the year and improved her record to 12-3-0. West Alabama keeper Jenni Aarniva was credited with a pair of saves and her record dropped to 10-4-1.
Lee fired 10 shots but only three were on target. The Lady Flames fought for four corner kicks and allowed the Tigers to only one. Both teams were whistled for 10 fouls.Â
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