CENTRAL, S.C. - The Lee Flames upset host Southern Wesleyan University on Friday evening 2-1 in overtime. Oneil Crawford picked up a loose ball at the half-line and dribbled past two Warrior defenders en route to the winning goal with 5:25 remaining in the sudden death overtime period.
"The guys were all fired up," said coach Henry Moyo. "We played with more passion tonight than I've seen in a long time. We believe we are going places now." The Flames are definitely headed to round two on Tuesday afternoon and will be pitted against top-seed Southern Polytechnic State University.
Lee's first goal came off a corner kick. Demaro Jones was credited with the score, while Curtis Alcide registered the assist. The Flames almost claimed the victory as the final buzzer sounded. Chris Hennessey's shot hit the bar and bounced into the back of the net. However, the referee said the goal was scored a couple seconds after the buzzer had sounded.
But on this night, the Flames showed no frustration and came back strong in overtime. "We played really, really well," stressed Moyo. "We out-shot them in both halves and had three shots hit the bar and kick away earlier in the match."
Lee actually played one man down most of the overtime period. Nathan Brown picked up a red card which is an automatic ejection.
The Flames (7-8-3) will seek to move back to .500 on Tuesday when they face unbeaten Southern Poly (13-0-1). The Hornets are currently ranked No. 4 in the NAIA ratings.