DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - For the past three years, Lee women's soccer coach Matt Yelton has believed he has been close to having the talent to win a NAIA National Championship.
His team left Kansas City heart-broken after losing to Martin Methodist in 2005. They lost to the same RedHawks in the semifinal last year but there was no denying the 2008 version of the Lee Lady Flames.
The women's soccer team became the university's first NAIA national champions on Saturday night by defeating Concordia University (Ore.) 3-0. Lee has been a member of the NAIA for over 30 years and women's soccer has finally broken a long-standing barrier.
Yelton admitted before the 2008 season began that he had the best talent he had ever been able to field. He proved that by directing the Lady Flames to a record-setting 24-1-1 final record and the coveted title.
The Lady Flames walked away with several individual national tournament honors. Chris Christensen was named the Most Valuable Player. Jamie Achten was named the tourney's Top Offensive Player. Kristine Tuck, Jenna Achten and Linn Christensen earned spots on the All-Tournament Team
Lee defeated Ohio Dominican, Park University (Mo.), rival Martin Methodist, Trinity Christian and Concordia during the march to the championship. They out-scored their opponents 14-3 and with the exception of the penalty kick advancement over Martin Methodist, the other victories were never in doubt.
On Saturday night, the two strong defenses fought toe-to-toe until Lee finally broke the scoring ice on an unassisted goal by freshman Jamie Achten in the 38th minute of the first half. It was her 21st goal of the season.
Achten's score seemed to be all the spark the Lady Flames needed. In the 41st minute, Lee's victory chances grew much greater when Meg Willette connected on an assist from Linn Christensen. The 2-0 halftime advantage was really all Yelton's well organized squad needed.
Both teams got off only four shots in the first half. However, Lee had three on goal and two went into the back of the net. On the other hand, Concordia also placed three shots on goal but there was no denting the Lee defense.
The icing on the victory cake came in the 52nd minute. Senior Tiffany Cox did the honors on the assist from Jamie Achten. It was Achten's 20th assist of the year.
The determined Lady Flames held the Concordia team, which was undefeated coming into the match, without a shot in the entire second half. On the other hand, Lee attempted nine shots in the game and five were on target.
"I'm blessed to be able to coach such a quality group of young ladies," said Yelton minutes after the victory. "All they did was believe, believe, and believe in each other. The depth of this team was amazing and was the key reason we were able to win the championship. Time after time we had different players step up and help us win."
The emotional coach also said he was blessed to be a part of a great university and have a great family that loves him and has believed in his mission to become one of the nation's top women's soccer coaches.
Earlier in the day, the NAIA All-American teams were named. Lee placed Christiane Christensen and Jamie Achten on the first team. Linn Christensen was named second team and Jenna Achten was listed as an honorable mention All-American.
