Thanks to a second half goal and stingy defense the Lee men's soccer team defeated Mississippi College, 1-0 snapping an eight-match win streak for the Choctaws on a chilly Friday night from the Lee Soccer Field.
Lee took just two shots in the second half but they made the most of one of those attempts as senior David Perez delivered a timely cross to freshman Samaan Williams who promptly fired it past the keeper to give the Flames the decisive and lone goal of the match in the 65th minute.
The defense held the lead for the remainder of the match as freshman goalie Daniel Hrenko had three saves in keeping the clean sheet.
The Tampa, Fla. native now has an 8-2-1 record and four shutouts in 11 starts. The Choctaws' goalkeeper, Humberto Pelaez had two saves in the loss and now sits at 8-2-1 on the year.
"This was a great win for us tonight and really keeps our hopes alive for where we want to be when it comes time for the postseason tournament," said head coach Paul Furey. "It was a really good battle between two teams that really play the game the right way. Of course it's always nice to beat an undefeated team so hopefully we can build on this momentum come Sunday."
All totaled Lee tallied eight shots while Mississippi College had 10. The Choctaws had just two corner kicks and Lee managed only one.
The Flames improve to 9-5-1 overall and are 4-2-1 in the GSC with just three matches remaining in the regular season. The loss drops Mississippi College to 9-2-1 on the year and 7-1 in league play.
"It's true that two of our freshman really step up tonight with Samaan's goal and Daniel in net but for me the heart and soul of this team is our four seniors, DP (Perez), Quade (Marinell), Arturo (Rocha) and Robbie (Cutchin)," acknowledged Furey. "DP set up the goal with a great pass and our seniors provided fantastic leadership on the field tonight."
Lee will honor those four standout seniors on Sunday as they wrap up the home portion of the regular season against Delta State at 4 p.m.