The University of West Florida men's soccer team earned a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Lee University in a physical matchup on Friday night.

The game opened with a back-and-forth battle, as both teams struggled to find clear chances amid tight defending and numerous fouls. The first half ended scoreless, but the intensity only fueled the Argonauts energy heading into the second half.

In the 69th minute, UWF broke through when Manu Bernabeu capitalized on a perfectly placed through ball and finished a breakaway to put the Argos up 1-0. As tensions remained high, UWF stayed composed and sealed the win late in the match. In the 88th minute, Kendrick Hernandez found the net after receiving a sharp pass inside the box from Adrian Rodriguez, doubling the lead and putting the game out of reach for Lee.

"We knew we were going to have to fight through some tough patches, we did that well," said coach Bill Elliott after the match. "Now can we come in Sunday afternoon and put in a similar performance, it's going to be a challenge."

The Argos will look to build on this momentum when they return to action on Sunday at 3 p.m. against Trevecca Nazarene.