Despite several chances to grab the advantage the No.23 Lee men’s soccer team settled for a 1-1 double overtime tie on Friday afternoon against Gulf South Conference front-runner West Alabama.
The Flames outshot the Tigers 19-9 in the contest but only placed four shots on frame. West Alabama registered five shots on goal.
“We had plenty of chances but couldn’t put very many shots on goal,” said head coach Paul Furey. “If we place more shots on goal and play this way on Sunday I think we’ll be very happy.”
The Tigers would get on the board first as Jean-Baptiste Meyniel fired a free kick into the top right corner of the net in the 36th minute.
Senior Jon Finlay would respond for the Flames and hit the equalizer just minutes into the second period. Finlay scored his second goal of the season at the 47:00 mark. David Perez was credited with the assist and leads the team with 22 points.
“Jon Finlay is always very active in every game,” said Furey. “He likes to get up and down the flank and makes a lot of things happen for us. He did that last week for us in Florida and he did that again today.”
After Lee battled back to tie things up the two clubs battled back and forth for much of the second period and overtime.
Both teams got good looks at the game winner in overtime. Quade Marinell slipped to the outside and was one-on-one with the keeper but saw his shot sail just high over the crossbar.
West Alabama also had a one-on-one chance but senior goalkeeper Tom Halsall went to the ground and deflected the shot away with his feet to preserve the tie. Halsall registered four saves while the Tigers’ keeper, Joshua Bramwell recorded three.
Lee held a staggering 12-2 advantage in corner kicks. “We had some great looks and just didn’t test the goalkeeper like we should have,” added Furey. “We’ll take the point here and we’ve got another one to go on Sunday.”
The tie moves Lee to 7-2-2 overall and 2-0-1 in league play. West Alabama is now 5-4-2 on the year and 4-0-1 in the GSC.
The Flames will head right back to work on Sunday afternoon as they host Alabama-Huntsville at 4:30 p.m. at the Lee Soccer Field. The Chargers are currently in second place in the GSC and a perfect 4-0.