DEMOREST, Ga. – Sierra Lee scored twice, and Maryville completed a perfect 8-0-0 run through the Collegiate Conference of the South regular season Friday night with a 3-0 triumph at Piedmont.
The Scots won a CCS title last year after going 7-0-1 in the regular season, a 1-1 draw at Covenant spoiling perfection. Friday night's convincing road result against a team tied for second place at kickoff sends Maryville into the postseason riding tons of momentum.
Maryville hosts the CCS Women's Soccer Tournament semifinals Nov. 6 against an opponent to be determined.
Lee is playing the best soccer of her career. The senior forward has goals in eight of her last nine matches, scoring 10 over that stretch to reach a career-high 14 for the season. She is up to 44 as a Scot, pushing her into 12th place on the all-time Maryville goals chart.
Fast-Starting Scots
All three Maryville goals Friday night came in the first 23:06 of action.
Madison McDonald got things started with her fourth of the season just 55 seconds into the match. Then Lee struck in the eighth and 24th minutes and Maryville coasted from there.
The Scots outshot the Lions 13-3 in the first half and 17-10 for the match. Corner kicks favored Maryville 6-2, and Piedmont was whistled for the only offsides call.
Sydney Mahr made six saves in backing up the defense for the team's fifth shutout of the season – all in October. Mahr's goals-against average is down to 1.15 and her saves percentage is at .750.
Lee attempted five shots, McDonald four and
Hannah Smoot three.
11th Perfect League Season
This marks the 11th time under head coach
Pepe Fernandez and associate head coach
Jon Baker that the Scots have been perfect through a conference regular season. The most recent were three consecutive 8-0-0 USA South seasons in 2018, 2019 and the Covid spring campaign of 2021.
Maryville ends the regular season 11-2-4, while Piedmont falls to 7-5-4 and 5-2-1.
This was Maryville's third straight shutout win over Piedmont since the Lions won a penalty-kick shootout for the inaugural CCS tournament championship in 2022. The Scots now lead the series that began in 1999 by a 32-13-5 count, including a 12-6-3 record in Demorest.
