The 12th-ranked Emory University Women's Soccer Team hung in with a higher-division squad in NCAA Division II Lee University for the majority of their match on Friday night, but a late penalty kick converted by the Lady Flames in Cleveland, Tennessee led to the Eagles second loss of the season.
The Eagles had an early chance to score in the contest on a shot on goal by junior Charlotte Butker in the seventh minute, but Lady Flames goalkeeper Haley Gribler converted the save to keep the game scoreless.
Both defenses would settle in as the half went on, but a substitution sparked Emory's attack, when freshman Emily Matis came off the bench to take three shots on goal in 11 minutes of action to conclude the frame. However, Gribler stayed true on each of the tries by the Eagles' forward, and the game remained scoreless heading into the halftime break.
The Eagles keeper was equally up to the task in the first half, as sophomore Liz Arnold, making the first start of her career, made three first-half saves of her own. As a team, Emory managed to outshoot Lee 10-6 in the first half, including a 6-3 edge in shots on goal.
Early in the second half, Emory averted a scoring attempt from the Lady Flames, when Leah Fortune's shot was deflected wide of the net, and the Eagles cleared away the resulting corner kick.
Later in the half, Arnold continued her strong play in goal, making a key diving save on a shot by Ode Fulutudilu in the 74th minute of action, deflecting a hard shot over the net to keep the game scoreless.
However, the decisive moment in the game came when the Eagles were called for a foul inside the box after a corner kick in the 78th minute, setting up a penalty kick opportunity for the Lady Flames. Chloe Rader would convert the kick for Lee, scoring her third goal of the year and giving her squad a 1-0 lead that it would hold the rest of the way.
The goal broke up a streak of 234 minutes and 36 seconds of scoreless soccer played by the Emory defense, spanning the last three games. For Arnold, it ended a personal streak of just over 256 minutes of scoreless soccer. Arnold, who took the loss to fall to 1-1-1, became the first Emory keeper to play a full contest in goal since September 19th, 2010, when former Eagle Kaele Leonard played the full 90 minutes in a win over Rhodes.
Emory would finish the game with advantages in both shots (14-12) and shots on goal (8-5), but it would be of little consolation to the Eagles, who fell to 2-2-1 on the year with the loss. Lee improved to 1-2-0 on the year with the victory.
After playing the first five games of their season on the road, the Eagles will return home on Sunday, September 15th to play their home-opening contest, hosting fourth-ranked Lynchburg College at the Woodruff Physical Education Center at 1:00 PM.