Jose Orellana got things going for the Lee Flames as he scored in the closing minutes of the first half to help propel the Flames to a 3-0 victory over Delta State on a warm Friday night from the Lee Soccer Field.
After being held scoreless the previous two matches the Flames broke through as Orellana weaved through defenders and slipped a shot past the keeper to give Lee the advantage at the intermission.
"We've struggled to score goals this season even though we've had some good chances.
Tonight was the same, we had some good chances early but I was happy to see us convert some goals tonight," said head coach Derek Potteiger. "I was glad to see Jose get that goal because I thought he was playing so well out there for us tonight and was the most dangerous player on the field."
From there the Flames tallied two second half goals as Freshman Jared McWhorter scored his first career goal on a powerful boot from 40 yards out in the 73rd minute.
Just seven minutes later it was Samaan Williams putting the contest away as he fired a shot off the keeper's hands and in from 35 yards away at the 79:10 mark.
Tristan Putnam registered his third clean sheet on the year and has allowed just three goals in five matches in net for the Flames. The senior had two saves in the match and leads the conference in save percentage (.900) and saves per game (5.4). Sophomore Dan Hrenko worked the final eight minutes in goal.
The aggressive Flames held a commanding 20-7 advantage in shots and placed eight on target. Delta State was limited to just three shots on goal.
"I love the formation and the way we are playing right now," said Orellana after the match. "I was glad I could get that goal to help get us going. We haven't scored in a couple of matches but everyone has been working hard and we had really good practices so we are very happy with this result."
The Statesmen were forced to play the final 19 minutes a man down after they had a player shown a red card.
Harvey Stevens was credited with five saves for the Mississippi club as he faced a constant pressure from the Lee attack.
The Flames improve to 2-1-2 on the season and are off to a 1-0 start in Gulf South Conference play. The Statesmen fall to 2-2-1 on the year and are 0-1 in league play.
Lee will now gear up for a match with Mississippi College on Sunday at 4 p.m. to wrap up the first conference home stand of the season. The Choctaws defeated Shorter on Friday night, 4-0 and are 4-0-1 on the season.
The Lee University women’s soccer team warmed up for their showdown with No. 17 Mississippi College on Sunday with a 6-1 takedown of Delta State University in a Gulf South Conference (GSC) matchup Friday night. The Lady Flames (3-2, 2-0 GSC) posted three goals in each half to record the comfortable win.
“It was nice to get some goals and we played well at times,” said Lee head coach Chris Hennessey. “It was a really good team performance. Everybody got good minutes tonight and it’s going to help obviously for our big game against Mississippi on Sunday. ”
Summer Lanter scored two goals to pace the Lee offense. Mia Hollingsworth and McKenzie Bricker tallied a pair of assists each.
The Lady Flames fired off 20 shots and placed nine on goal. The Lady Statesmen (0-5, 0-3 GSC) put one of their three shots on frame. Lee held a 10-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Suzanne Arant began the Lee scoring in the sixth minute. Hollingsworth was credited with the assist. Twenty-five seconds later, Lanter received an assist from Katie Cloud to put Lee ahead 2-0. Riley Engels took a pass from Bricker and pushed the lead to 3-0 with just under 10 minutes left in the first half.
Lanter delivered a laser shot into the upper-90 from the top of the box to open the second half scoring. Hollingsworth assisted on the play. Freshman Devin Healy tallied her fourth goal of the season on a corner kick by Bricker in the 66th minute.
Carly Smoltz slipped a shot past a diving DSU goalkeeper to round out the Lee scoring with 12:17 left on the clock. Anna Leslie picked up the assist.
Delta State avoided the shutout with an unassisted goal by Jasmine McGill with just 13 seconds remaining.
Taylor Green started and earned the win in goal after holding Delta State scoreless in the first 45 minutes. Erin Olson played the final 45 minutes for the Lady Flames.
The Lady Flames now turn their attention to Mississippi College. The GSC contest is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
“There’s no secret about how Mississippi play,” added Hennessey. “They kind of bully their way through teams. The important thing for us is how sharp we are, making sure we play away from what their strengths are and everyone’s got to do their job. It’s going to be a good game, going to be a battle.”