Flener's set of goals lifts Lions to victory

September 10, 2022

by Dustin Semore, Sports Information Director

HENDERSON, Tenn. — The gloomy Tennessee weather did nothing to dampen the spirits of the Freed-Hardeman Lions, particularly for Avery Flener. The freshman netted two goals against Evangel (Mo.) University, including one in the final minutes, to lead the Lions to a 2-1 victory over the Valor.

Freed-Hardeman (3-1-0) had four shots in the first half, but the one shot on goal at 19:34 found its target. With Thabo Mahlaha scanning the defense at the penalty arc, he found an open Maciej Gorzynski cutting to the left side of FHU's field. Gorzynski quickly sent a centering pass, where Flener perfectly timed a sliding kick to touch the nylon.

It did not take Evangel (3-3-0) to tally the equalizer, when a little over a minute later at 20:45, James Bourke-Nuku got a head start from the top of the box towards the net on a corner kick. His momentum was timed with the corner and tied the match at 1-1.

The Lions began to turn up the offensive pressure, nearly doubling their offense attempts in the back half, sending seven shots toward the Valor keeper. The celebration for the maroon and white proved premature at 67:47 when a goal scored off of an FHU corner kick was wiped when the Lions were called for offside.

20 minutes passed before the next major scoring opportunity happened, this time for the Valor. In the 87th minute, an Evangel striker broke free and was one-on-one with FHU keeper Omer Shifris, but the speedy Ian Matheus turned on the afterburners to cover the gap and a perfectly timed tackle kept the scores level.

Seconds later, at 88:42, Jack O'Riordan sent a corner kick into the night sky toward the six-foot box where Flener's header was waiting to tally the game-winning goal with seconds to spare. 

This was Flener's fifth goal of the season, bringing his point total to a team-leading 10. Gorzynski and Mahlaha's assists push their season total to four each, with O'Riordan's helper being his ninth point of the campaign.

Shifris earned the victory with one save

Up Next

The third match in six days awaits the FHU Lions as they look to host Oakwood (Ala.) University on Tuesday, September 13. Kickoff following the women's match is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.