Bears win Penalty Kick Thriller to take Regional Crown

PENSACOLA, Fla. - For just the second time in program history, the Lenoir-Rhyne women's soccer team is the Southeast Regional Champion. The Bears advanced past fourth-seeded Flagler 4-2 in penalty kicks after the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Grayson Cameron once again came up huge for LR during the penalty kicks, stopping two Saints. The Bears were perfect once again on their penalty kicks, with Leonie Proessl, Madi Kyle, Stephanie Figueiredo and Kate Casey scoring for LR.
 
"Just continue to be so proud of the girls," Head Coach Gary Higgins said. "Flagler is a quality, quality team and to be able to gut out another win like that against a team like that says so much about the toughness and grit these girls have shown. They had to be completely focused on their job today and they were able to do it.
 
"It just kind of seems like it's meant to be."
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

• Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 1, Flagler 1 (LR advances 4-2 on penalty kicks)
• Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (12-5-4), Flagler (17-2-2)
• Location: Pensacola, Fla. | UWF Soccer Complex 

STATS OF THE MATCH:

• Flagler had the upper hand on the stat sheet, but LR was able to fend them off. Annie Habeeb scored the only Flagler goal on a penalty kick in the first half. Habeeb had 10 total shots and eight shots on goal in the game.
• Freshman Leonie Proessl tied the game at 1 in the 87th minute off a great assist from Scarlett Kelly. The goal was Proessl's 12th of the season to lead LR. She missed the Bears' win over Queens in the second round.
• Flagler peppered 28 total shots, 18 of which were on goal. The Bears had nine total shots with seven on goal.
• Cameron made a career-high 17 saves, not including the two stops she had in the penalty kick round.
• The Saints also managed to have 12 corners in the game, but weren't able to score on any of them. The Bears only had two corners all game.
• LR committed 13 fouls to Flagler's 10.
• Five Bears played all 110 minutes, and seven Bears logged at least 100 minutes on the pitch.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• This is the second Regional championship in program history for LR. The Bears hadn't won the Region since their first NCAA Tournament appearance back in 2010.
• Cameron's 17 saves was a career-high for the Hickory native. This was Cameron's first double-digit save game of the year.
• Two of LR's three NCAA Tournament wins have come on penalty kicks. The Bears are 7/8 on PKs in the Tournament, and Cameron has allowed only three goals on seven chances in PKs.
• LR is now 4-5-6 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Bears are now 3-3 in penalty kicks in the Tournament.
• This is the Bears' third win over a top-25 opponent this year. Flagler was ranked No. 18 in the USC Poll this past week.
• Lenoir-Rhyne is the only 7-seed remaining in the tournament. The Bears have upset the No. 2, 3, and 4 seeds during this tournament run.

UP NEXT: The Bears advance to Elite Eight and will take on Florida Tech on Sunday at 1:00 P.M. in Pensacola.