Mississippi College Edges Flames, 2-1

Two second half goals helped to propel Mississippi College to a 2-1 victory over the Lee men’s soccer team on a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon at the Lee Soccer Field.

After the two clubs battled to a 0-0 draw in the first half the Choctaws broke through with the first goal of the contest in the 52^nd minute when Dinho Zwanemade the most of badly timed Flames turnover in the box and found the back of the net.

The Flames defense would bend again at the 60:09 mark as Horacio Gutierrez Jr.

slipped a shot past Lee keeper Tristen Putnman into the far right corner of the net for a much needed insurance goal for the Choctaws.

Jeremy Bonyaa would make things interesting in the final 25 minutes as he headed home is first goal of the season off a corner kick from Alfie Coldron in the 67th minute. The 6-foot-5 senior defender skied high and found the ball to cut the Choctaws lead to 2-1

“I was happy with how we responded after we scored in the second half but we have to be mentally tougher as a team overall,” said Lee head coach DerekPotteiger. “We didn’t show any poise after they scored the first goal which helped lead to the second one and that is something we need to work on because goals can happen in a split second if you don’t remain focused.”

Mississippi College’s Humberto Pelaez would make the lead stick as he allowed just the one goal while posting five saves.

Putnam allowed more than one goal for just the second time all season and was credited with three saves in net for the Flames.

The Flames lost for the first this season when scoring a goal. Lee had previously been 2-0 in such matches.

Lee outshot the Choctaws 10-8 and placed one more shot on goal in the evenly contested Gulf South Conference matchup. The Flames had several quality looks in the first half but had a few shots sail just over the crossbar as the two teams drew empty in the first half.

The loss drops the Flames to 2-2-2 on the season and an even 1-1 in the GSC. The Choctaws remain undefeated with a 5-0-1 overall mark and are 2-0 in league play.

“I think we are headed in the right direction and we are learning what it takes to be a mentally tougher team but that will certainly be put to the test next weekend as we head on the road,” concluded Pottegier.

Lee will head west to visit Christian Brothers in Memphis on Friday night at 8 p.m. before wrapping up the trip with a stop in Jackson to play Union on Sunday afternoon at 5:15 p.m.