Lee University already has done something no other NAIA school has done in women’s soccer — win four consecutive national titles.
The Cleveland school is leaving the NAIA after this school year, and Matt Yelton’s Lady Flames intend to drive for five as they depart.
With 10 of 11 starters back from last year’s national champions — and several other players capable of taking over positions — Lee is the clear-cut favorite to win it all again. But this is soccer, where close games are the norm in the postseason and even the dominating team on a given day can lose, which makes the Lady Flames’ four at the fore all the more remarkable.
They open their season later than most, facing 19th-ranked Northwood on Friday and fifth-ranked Embry-Riddle on Sunday in the Habitat for Humanity Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla. Each of those teams has played four games already, whereas Yelton made tried in vain to schedule games last week, even offering “substantial guarantees.”
It’s when they finish that matters, though — not when they begin.