PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida Blair Cowan scored at the 9:53 mark in the first half and the talented Argonauts defense took charge the remaining 80:47 in eliminating the Lee women's team from the NCAA Division II South Region Championship on Thursday afternoon at the UWF Soccer Complex.  

Cowan received the ball at the half and flew her shot from 50 yards out to score over Lee goalkeeper Josie Taylor for the game's only score. 

The 1-0 victory moved the No. 3 seeded Argos to 16-3-1 overall. The season ended for the 6-seeded Lady Flames at 12-4-5. West Florida will take on No. 2 Nova Southeastern (9-2-4) from the Sunshine State Conference in the second round. UWF earned the right to host the first and second rounds when No. 2 seed Nova opted out of hosting the tournament. 

 "Congratulations to UWF they set the tone from the start, and we wish them the best moving forward," said Lee Coach Chris Hennessey.  "We knew it would be a tough test with the quick turnaround. It took us a few minutes to get adjusted to the game. West Florida was better in certain areas of the field and the game was won from there. 

"It was a tough one to swallow. The work rate was there from the ladies, and we battled really hard just couldn't break through," added Hennessey. 

The Lady Flames were held to only four shots the entire contest and two were on target. Ellie Crisler and Kate Dirkse had their shots handled by Argo keeper Maciah Lipsey. On the other hand, West Florida fired 12 shots and placed six on goal. Lee keeper Taylor had five saves in taking the loss. 

"Kate (Dirkse) had a phenomenal performance in the back for us today and Josie (Taylor" had some big saves," noted the coach. 

Tracking the UWF, Lee History 

Including the two matches this season, Lee holds a 7-6-2 margin of victory over the Argonauts, a series that began in 2013. The latest four meetings have ended with a one-goal difference and no team has outscored the other by more than two goals in all 16 games.