The Lee University soccer program took on a stout Mississippi College Choctaws to close out their regular season at home. After an electric Lady Flames match, the men fanned the flame of an exciting atmosphere at Ray Conn Sports Complex. The two team exchanged goals before settling on a 2-2 draw.
The Flames began play with an aggressive attack, but both teams struggled to make any progress down the field despite a strong showing of action. Momentum began to pick up, however, over the course of the half, and play ended with a stunning goal by the Mississippi College Choctaws.
Santi Diosa capitalized on the momentum with a goal and was assisted by Aimar Calomarde.
The Choctaws finished the half leading 1-0 with 5 shots. After the half, Flames came back forcefully to defend their turf in the final home game of the season. The second half began with intense play between thet wo teams as both teams were looking to secure a victory. Daniel Garvilla brought the Flames into the action by scoring two goals on back-to-back shots giving his team the lead. In minute 47, Garvilla began his stretch of dominance with a beautiful lob that gracefully put the Flames on the board. He was assisted by the goalkeeper, Jackob Buhrkhul. Garvilla continued his relentless drive with a precise header off of a throw-in in the 62nd minute.
Tensions continued to rise at Ray Conn Sports Complex as the latter part of the second half of play developed. Emotions were high, arguments were heated, and the game was packed with fouls. At the conclusion of the game, the Choctaws led with 18 fouls and the Flames trailed behind with 15. The Flames, however, outweighed the Choctaws with four yellow cards compared to their three.
Play continued to fire up as a majority of these calls were thrown out after 70 minutes of play. The Choctaw bench even got a piece of the action, drawing a yellow card after a series of clear outbursts of frustration against the officials. The Choctaws, nevertheless, were not going to relent in their pursuit of victory. Jayce Dotson secured the tying goal in the 86th minute to prevent the Choctaw from going home defeated. Dotson’s goal, assisted by Santi Diosa, was a clear shot from the penalty box that electrified the Mississippi College bench.
Despite intense play and a fierce volley of competition, the match ended in a 2-2 tie. The Flames concluded their regular season play at home with a 3-5-6 record, with a 2-3-4 in Gulf South Conference play. The Choctaws finished the game with a7-4-2 record overall and 5-3-1 tally in conference competition. With today’s thrilling draw, the just tied the 2013 Flames team for most ties in a season with six. They finished 13-5-6 that year.
The Flames will continue the regular season on Friday, November 1st in Memphis, Tennessee as they take on the Christian Brothers University Buccaneers.