A tight first half saw just one goal for either side, as Laura Thacker knocked in a pass from Jordan Woody 12:21 into the frame.
“Unfortunately, we were not as good in the first half as I would have liked, but give a ton of credit to Spring Hill,” said Lee head coach Matt Yelton. “They were very organized and gave a fantastic effort to disrupt what we wanted to do.”
The Lady Flames offense grabbed momentum in the second frame, starting with Achten’s first goal of the contest, assisted by Thacker. The record-setting assist came for Achten on the next goal, as Ode Fulutudilu moved the score to 3-0.
Amy Cochran scored 16:11 into the second half, double assisted by Kathyrn Healy and Achten. The defending national player of the year then scored less than four minutes later, this time assisted by Rachael Nasralla. All totaled, Achten tallied two goals and two assists on the night, and now has 86 career assists.
“I think that it was a great way for Jamie (Achten) to represent herself on Senior Night by scoring the goals, but also by going out and breaking the national assist record,” added Yelton. “She has been a fantastic player for us, and all of her accolades are well deserved.”
The sixth and final goal came off the bench, when Darcy Brannen knocked in the rebound from a Kathryn Healy shot.
Spring Hill College took five shots in the contest, two of which were on goal and saved by Lee goalkeeper Leah Wilson. Lee took 29 shots, with 16 on target.
“(Spring Hill Head Coach) Christian (DeVries) does a great job with his team and thankfully we were able to put a few in the back of the net in the second half and finish off the win.”
The Lady Flames honored their two seniors, Achten and Woody, in a halftime ceremony. Achten is in her fourth year at Lee and is a three-time NAIA All-American, Woody joined Lee this year, starting in 11 matches, following three years at Liberty University.
“We feel extremely blessed that Jordan came to be a part of our program this year ,” said Yelton of Woody. “Even though she has only been with us for a short time, she will always be a member of our family.”
“I know that we will have a tough time replacing Jamie (Achten) on the soccer field, but it will be even more difficult to lose her leadership and character. I feel very fortunate to have been her coach the last four years.”
The Lee ladies will travel to Gulfport, Miss., Thursday, for the semifinal match against Faulkner University, hoping to make the final round to be played on Saturday.
“We are looking forward to being back in Gulfport again this year,” concluded Yelton. “The SSAC does a very nice job with the Final Four tournament and we are excited to have the opportunity to play there again this year.”
