Women's Soccer posts win over third-ranked Ravens

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Coach Lee Hughes and his Lee women’s soccer team posted a huge early season victory, handing No. 3-ranked Franklin Pierce University (Rindge, New Hampshire) a thrilling 2-1 defeat on Florida Tech’s Rick Stottler Field on Saturday afternoon. The Flames completed the rugged two-game road trip with a 1-0-1 record.

Lee took only one shot in the entire first half. Freshman Audrey O’Meara wasted no time in scoring her first goal as a Lady Flame when she picked up an assist from Ava Smith and gave the Lady Flames the 1-0 lead with only 2:15 gone in the opening frame. In the first 45 minutes, the Ravens out-shot Lee 7-1 and it took a save by goalkeeper Abby Whitcomb in the final minute of the half to keep Franklin Pierce off the board.

The second 45 minutes was a different story. The Flames out-shot the Ravens 10-7 and placed four shots on goal. Franklin Pierce tied the contest in the 58th minute on an own goal by Lee. The battle went back and forth, and the suspense continued to grow. The heated affair saw each team issued a yellow card. Eighteen fouls were called, 11 against Lee and seven against the Ravens.

With the clock showing 78:52, junior Megan Davis scored what turned out to be the winning goal for the Flames. However, it took a couple of late saves by Whitcomb to secure the victory. The first save came at the 83:53 mark and under a minute later 84:30 she turned away another Raven shot at the goal.

For the game, Whitcomb finished with five important saves. On the other hand, Franklin Pierce’s keeper Ryan Rosario had three saves in allowing the pair of scores. Corner kicks were hard to come by. Lee picked up only two and Franklin Pierce four.

Coach Hughes used 20 players in the rugged and heated action. He went to his bench for nine reserves and only standouts, junior Whitney Carrigan and freshman Moa Ekman, played the entire 90 minutes.

The Flames will continue to go against tough competition on Wednesday, but they will play their home opener at the Ray Conn Sports Complex when they host the University of North Georgia at 5 p.m.   

Photo by Audrey O’Meara