MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Freshman Morgan Standifer scored the game-winner with only nine-seconds remaining in regulation to give the Lee women's soccer team a 2-1 victory over host Christian Brothers University in what Matt Yelton termed, "one of, if not the most exciting finish to a game that I've ever experienced in 18 years of coaching.
"Kinsey (Cichowitz) deserves a lot of credit for the game winner," explained Yelton.
"With only 20 seconds to play, most players are already thinking about overtime but she fought through to get her cross in the box and it dropped to Morgan for a great finish."
Things didn't began that great for the Lady Flames, 9-4-1 overall and 8-1-0 in the Gulf South Conference. The first half ended at 0-0 and Yelton was not a happy camper.
"We were absolutely terrible in the first half," he pointed out. "I'm not sure that terrible is a strong enough word to describe just how bad we were in the first 45 minutes, but we were a different team from the first whistle of the second half."
Lee took a 1-0 lead in the 65th minute when Cichowitz collected the first of her two assists on the evening with a well-placed corner kick to senior Michelle Spangler. The Lady Bucs (9-4-1, 6-4) countered to tie the contest at 1-1 when Camilla Rodrigues was awarded a penalty kick and knocked it into the back of the net. "When we conceded the penalty I wasn't sure how we would respond, but we just kept fighting and fought all the way to the last whistle," praised Yelton.
"We created several good chances before the goal," he added, "but full credit to Michelle to grab the first goal, and then Morgan scoring the game-winner was absolutely a stunning strike."
Shots came at a premium on both sides. The Lady Flames had 13 shots and put seven on target. Robyn Wade had five saves in defeat. Christian Brothers fired six shots against the talented Lee defense and four were on goal. Marbel Egwuenu collected three key saves in the win.
"Kat (Kathryn) Healy's name isn't on the score sheet but tonight was her best performance of the year," stressed Yelton. "She was a big contributor to this result."
While the Lady Flames are edging closer to an unofficial GSC championship, Yelton can secure the 300th win of his outstanding coaching career on Sunday at 2 p.m. when Lee heads on up to Jackson, Tenn. to test Union University.