HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Freshman Alaysia Nye delivered the winning goal in the 87th minute to give Lee a 2-1 upset victory over No. 1 seeded West Florida in the semifinal round of the Gulf South Conference tournament on Friday afternoon at John Hunt Park. It was the second straight upset for the Lady Flames who defeated Montevallo in the opening round.
The Lady Flames advanced to face the winner of Mississippi College and West Alabama in a contest that was being played later on Friday evening. Sunday's final is slated for 1 p.m. EDT. Lee improved to 12-2-5 on the year.
The Argonauts jumped on top 1-0 at the 47:06 mark in the first half on a goal by Brianna Pope. The double assist came from Manami Okada and Blair Cowan. The contest remained 1-0 at the half.
Lee evened the game at 1 in the 60th minute. Grace Berry was fouled in the box which resulted in a penalty kick. Lee senior Kate Dirkse calmly stepped up and nailed the kick, much to the delight of the Lee bench and fans.
The contest remained even until the 87:08 mark when Ellie Crisler delivered a pass to Nye. The freshman, according to Coach Chris Hennessey delivered an excellent strike into the back of the net and put the Lady Flames on top and secured a huge 2-1 victory.
"We beat an extremely talented West Florida team. Our girls bought into what we were trying to accomplish today, and the effort was outstanding," pointed out Hennessey.
"It was a well-deserved victory by our girls. We will take Saturday and try to rest and get ready for another big game on Sunday. I am so proud of these young ladies. They have overcome so much adversity in the later part of the season to get to this point."
Again, the Lee coach praised the work of his defenders and midfielders in holding the Argos to only eight shots. "This is a quality team," the Lee coach stressed. "Again, our girls worked the entire 90 minutes to get us in a position to post this victory today."
Lee had 10 shots and placed six on goal. West Florida fired eight shots but was able to get three on target. Argo keeper Maciah Lipsey had four saves in the loss and Josie Taylor had a pair in the victory for the Lady Flames. Lee had three corner kicks and West Florida four. The rugged battle saw the Lady Flames whistled for 17 fouls and the Argos 12. Each club received one yellow card.
