The sixth-ranked Lee women's soccer team recorded the program's first NCAA National Tournament victory on Friday afternoon as they took down Florida Tech, 2-0 in the opening round on a steamy 85 degree day in South Florida.
Freshman Isabelle Berthoud put the Lady Flames on the board as she powered home her third goal of the season in the 36th minute. Berthoud scored off a shot from Marissa Villafuerte that deflected off the cross bar. Villafuerte was credited with the assist.
The score was initially set up on a beautiful delivery pass into the box from all-conference defender McKenzie Bricker.
The senior had missed the previous three games with a concussion.
Senior goalkeeper Haley Gribler and the brick wall defense of the Lady Flames would make the lead stick. Gribler posted her sixth shutout of the season while Bricker, Katie Cloud, Meagan Newman, Anna Lanter did not allow a shot on goal.
GSC Player of the Year Summer Lanter added the finishing touches on the victory as she drilled home her 18th goal of the season at the 85:58 mark. The senior has now scored nine goals in the last five matches and has scored in all four playoff contests this season. Freshman Kelsey Yolder provided the assist as she sent the ball up to Lanter.
"We're making history and it feels amazing to be a part of this group," said Summer after the match. "I was determined to
"It feels really good to get the win against a real quality opponent like Florida Tech," said head coach Chris Hennessey. "This is a very special group we have and they fight and compete and energy is really good and we are close right now to playing at our best.and the players that came on gave us a huge lift and players like Suzanne Arant and the back three didn't get any break so I'm not sure where they got their energy from but it was a fantastic effort."
The Panthers season ends at 9-8-3. Karlyn Prisco started in goal and had a save but was injured as she collide with Lanter on a one on one scoring attempt in the 27th minute. Natalia Milashus came on to work the final 63 minutes and allowed both goals while registering five saves.
Lee dominated the match from start to finish out shooting the Panthers, 18-7. The Lady Flames generated eight shots on frame and did not yield a shot on goal the entire match. Lee held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
The Lady Flames improve to 17-4 overall and are riding a 10-match winning streak as they move on and will now play No. 2 seed and host Nova Southeastern on Sunday at 2 p.m. The winner will advance to the third round of the 48-team national championship field and play next Friday.