ROME, Ga. – Jared McWhorter launched a free kick from 30 yards out into the upper right corner of the goal to give the Lee men's soccer team a hard-fought, 2-1 overtime victory over Shorter on Saturday night.
McWhorter, a preseason All-GSC selection, placed it perfectly past the outstretch arms of Shorter's keeper, Mathew Shorrocks for his third goal of the season, and his second in as many matches.
After leading 1-0 for much of the match the Flames conceded in the 88th minute as Shorter's Jan Gruhn found the back of the net in the waning moments of regulation.
"This was my first experience playing at Shorter and that is a tough environment to play. In some ways I'm simply happy to get the three points, and want to credit the guys for regrouping before OT and doing what was necessary to win," said Lee head coach Derek Potteiger. "That being said, we imploded at the end of the second half and it shows some areas as a team we need to fix, and fix right away."
Caden Corrao scored the lone goal of the first half as he headed in a corner kick from Eemeli Makela in the 30
th minute.
The Hawks held a 16-6 advantage in shots including a staggering 15-4 edge in the second half and overtime.
Daniel Hrenko earned the win in net for the Flames as he registered four saves, including a game-changing save in the 89
th minute to keep the game tied as Shorter unleashed a barrage of shots on the Lee defense. Shorter's Mathew Shorrocks tallied a pair of saves in the loss.
The Flames improve to 5-1-1 on the year and 1-0 in the GSC while the much improved Hawks fall to 4-2 and 0-1 in league play .
Lee will get back on the pitch on Friday night as it returns home to tangle with Mississippi College at 7 p.m. The Choctaws are currently 2-1-2 and 1-0 in the GSC.
"We have a few days before our next game and so we will regroup and get ready for the next round of GSC games," concluded Potteiger.
