The Lee men's soccer team (4-1-1) wrapped up its non-conference schedule in style with a 2-0 blanking of the Barry Bucs (1-5) , the defending NCAA D2 National Champions on Tuesday evening from the Lee Soccer Field.
Junior Jared McWhorter scored both goals in the second half to seal the victory for the Flames. The Woodstock, Ga. native struck first in the 56th minute as Eemeli Makela delivered a short corner and McWhorter drilled it home just inside the back post.
McWhorter put the sprinkles on the ice cream in the 85th minute as he stole the ball at midfield weaved past a pair of defenders and beat the keeper in the lower right corner of the net for his second score of the contest.
"That first goal was all coach, he told me they leave that area in the top of the box wide open and so as soon as Eemeli goes cut to that near post and he played to me and I just finished it for our team so it felt good," said McWhorter. "Our midfield and back line played really well, it was a total team effort. I could tell their defenders were really tired so I just tried to take it right at them at the end and was fortunate to covert on the second one."
Senior keeper Daniel Hrenko and the stout Lee defense made the two goals count as they kept their fifth clean sheet in six tries this season. Hrenko tallied six saves, including three of the 'highlight' reel variety. The Tampa native turned a first half try away with a lunging save to push the ball just over the crossbar. In the second half Hrenko tallied two point-blank saves in one on one matchups showcasing incredible reaction time.
"I thought it was a complete game from our team. Defensively we were good and turned away some good scoring chances for them. Barry's a good team and they are going to win their fair share this year. I think we probably caught them at the right time and were able to capitalize on it," said Lee head coach Derek Potteiger. "And offensively we created chances and to be 4-1-1 I couldn't be happier with this performance. Each game we get to continue to tell a story and we just want to keep momentum going by executing and giving this type of effort each time out."
The Flames earned seven corner kicks, five in the second half, and gave up just one to the Bucs. Lee held a 16-12 advantage in shots and placed eight on frame to six by the visitors.
Mirko Ronchi registered six saves in net for the Bucs. Ronchi kept his team alive for much of the second half with a couple of clutch saves of his own but falls to 1-5 on the season.
Lee will open up Gulf South Conference play on Saturday as they travel to rival Shorter for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. The Flames return home a week from Friday (Oct. 4) when they host Mississippi College at 7 p.m.
