Lancers host Liberty Saturday

LONGWOOD HOSTS FIRST-EVER BIG SOUTH MATCH

FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood University men’s soccer team will host Liberty University in the Lancers’ first-ever home Big South Conference contest on Saturday, September 1 at 7 p.m. at the Athletics Complex in Farmville. Admission is free for all of Longwood’s fall sports home contests.

In an effort to honor all of the student-athletes, coaches and staff that helped Longwood attain Big South affiliation, the men’s soccer team will celebrate the past, as well as look forward to the future, with a ceremonial coin flip before Saturday’s match. Former Longwood standout Shane Johnson, who is now playing for the Richmond Kickers, will serve as the representative for the hundreds of student-athletes who led the way towards this milestone game. The official will be flipping a “challenge coin,” which was used to prove affiliation with ones unit during World War II.

Longwood Notes

·      Longwood is searching for its first win of the 2012 season following a 4-0 loss at No. 17 Coastal Carolina on August 24, and a 2-1 double-overtime loss at Presbyterian on August 28.

·      The Lancers return four starters among 15 letterwinners from last season.

·      Eight true freshmen have logged time for the Lancers so far in 2012. Longwood has 18 underclassmen (11 freshmen, 7 sophomores) on their 26-man roster this season.

·      Six of Longwood’s first seven games are against Big South opponents.

·      Freshman Philip van Berkom leads the Lancers with one goal for two points.

·      Freshman goalkeeper Carl Carpenter has a team-high 12 saves through two games. Carpenter, who came off the bench against Coastal, played the entire 100+ minutes in front of the net for Longwood at Presbyterian.

Scouting Liberty

·      Liberty is 0-1 on the season after dropping a 2-0 decision to North Carolina State.

·      Through one game, Sachem Wilson has a team-high five shots, while Tim Haribson has registered three of his own.

·      Goalkeeper Sam Chappell played all 90 minutes against N.C. State, making three saves and allowing two goals.

Series History

·      Saturday’s match will mark the 18^th meeting all-time between Longwood and Liberty. The Lancers defeated the Flames, 3-1, when they last met a year ago, but Liberty holds a 10-4-3 advantage in the all-time series.