In front of a packed house at the Lee Soccer Field the Lee men's soccer team kicked off the official NCAA Division II era in style, with a 1-0 blanking of Emmanuel College on Friday night, in the Lee Olive Garden Invitational.
The crowd didn't have to wait long to cheer as junior Quade Marinell scored off a pass from David Perez to put the Flames up at the 11:03 mark.
"We talked about the early goal being a very important element of our success tonight and fortunately we got that," said head coach Paul Furey.
"We got caught up into the hype a little bit and didn't get into our groove as the match went on but credit Emmanuel for disrupting some of that."
From there the back line settled in and made the lead stick. Senior goalkeeper Tom Halsall earned the clean sheet and recorded three saves. Captain and defender Gabe Franco manned the middle of the defense. Franco suffered an injury on a kick to the face in the second half but would reenter the contest.
"The defense did a good job tonight and Tom (Halsall) was solid in net to keep the clean sheet," added Furey. "Unfortunately we got a couple of guys banged up a bit and we have a quick turnaround playing tomorrow."
The Flames outshot the Lions by a slight 12-11 margin. Lee placed two shots on mark while Emmanuel had three on target. The Flames earned five corner kicks, all coming in the first half, while the Lions had four, all of which were recorded in the second period.
Ryan Brose allowed one goal and tallied one save in the net for Emmanuel. The Lions will look to rebound from the loss as they take on Shorter on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at the Lee Soccer Field.
The physical match saw two yellow cards distributed on each side and a red card handed out to the Lions with just under a minute remaining in the contest.
Pregame festivities included a tailgate party for students, followed by a "Flame Walk" as athletes from all 17 intercollegiate sports were represented on the soccer field. Student Athlete Advisory Committee President Kyle Briner and Vice President Sam Burrus, presented Dr. and Mrs. Conn with a commemorative plate and soccer ball to honor the occasion.
After Marinell's goal the Lee soccer team presented Dr. and Mrs. Conn with the ball. They didn't have to wait long for it, as Lee struck just 11 minutes into the match.
"It was good to get the victory for Lee University in the first official D2 match and it was really an exciting night," said Furey. "We loved the crowd tonight and this was the most amazing atmosphere since I've been here at lee. They were fantastic."
The Flames will have a quick turnaround as they will wrap up the Lee Olive Garden Invitational tomorrow night against Trevecca Nazarene at 7 p.m. The Trojans fell 4-0 to Shorter in the opening match on Friday.