2009 Women's Soccer

HENDERSON, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions held their own against the No. 9 ranked team in the country, but lost a 4-2 decision to Martin Methodist (Tenn.) College on Tuesday afternoon at the Josh Riley Soccer Complex.

The first few minutes, thought, looked as though the match wouldn't be anything but a blowout.  The RedHawks struck quickly, opening the scoring in the 2nd minute when Shannon Walter took a pass in the box from Daniel Sofer and beat FHU keeper Tiffany Harris with a shot to the right post.

MMC scored again less than a minute later, with Sofer assisting Nicole O'Donnell this time as O'Donnell made a run past the Lady Lion defense.

Down 2-0 just three minutes into the match, the Lady Lions responded by turning up their intensity level.  And it paid off shortly thereafter.

Helena Yegros, pushing up against the RedHawk defense, got a foot on a pass in the box and slid a shot past MMC keeper Hanit Schwarz to the right post to put FHU on the board in the 9th minute.

It was the only shot the Lady Lions would take in the half but the team's defense played outstanding for the rest of the half, clearing out several balls in the box.  On the ones that Martin Methodist was able to shoot on goal, Harris was there to turn the shots away.

The RedHawks finally converted on another opportunity in the 42nd minute after a ball played into the box took a high bounce over Harris's head, where O'Donnell was able to tap it in to give MMC a 3-1 halftime lead.

The FHU defense continued to hold in the second half, despite the RedHawks playing seven in the midfield and front line.  Neither team scored for the first 35-plus minutes of the half, with the Lady Lions again turning away or clearing out several shot opportunities for MMC.

Then, with just about eight minutes left to play, the bottom fell out of the sky.

The remainder of the match was played in a heavy rainfall which resulted in many balls stopping dead in their tracks.  The RedHawks took advantage of the sloppy conditions as Walters ripped a shot from the right side of the box to the far post in the 84th minute.

But again, the Lady Lions kept pressing into the match's final minutes.  And it again paid off as Naomi Pugh sailed a shot past Schwarz into the upper right corner of the net in the 88th minute for the final score of the match.  It was her first collegiate goal.

MMC took 35 shots to three for FHU.  Harris stopped 13 shots in goal for the Lady Lions.

FHU now gets several days off before traveling to play Faulkner (Ala.) University on Sept. 29 at 5:00 PM.