Longwood University Soccer Weekly Recap

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University won two Big South Conference women’s soccer home matches this past week, defeating Winthrop University 2-1 in overtime on October 4, and Gardner-Webb University 2-0 on Oct. 6. The Lancers are 10-4 overall, 5-1 in the Big South and have attained their 13th 10-win season in the 19-year history of the program, while enjoying their finest season start since 2002 (10-3-1).  Longwood will play two conference road contests this week in North Carolina at Campbell University in Buies Creek on Thursday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m., and at High Point University in High Point on Saturday, Oct. 13, at 5 p.m.



Recapping WU
Longwood led 1-0 at the intermission after sophomore Kelsey McDonald|Kennett Square, Pa. (Unionville) (this week’s Big South Attacking Player of the Week-see below) scored the opening goal at 21:44, finishing a well played through ball down the left side from junior Kelsey Pardue|Henrico (Hermitage).  Winthrop came out strong in the second half and tied the game at 1-1 with a goal from Grace Radler at 64:49, assisted by Taylor Walton on a ball played in from the right side.  It remained 1-1 through 90 minutes, though the Lancers almost ended it in regulation on a solid shot by senior captain Lindsey Ottavio|Fairfax (W.T. Woodson) with less than a minute on the clock that was saved by Eagles’ keeper Amelia Henderson.  In the overtime period, sophomore Kylie Dyer|Farmville (Prince Edward County) collected a pass to the box from McDonald on the left side and promptly finished it into the net with a hard shot to the lower left corner at 93:11.  It was Dyer’s first game-winning goal of her career.  Longwood had a 14-7 advantage in shots, including 6-3 in attempts on goal, and had a 7-1 advantage on corner kicks, as well.  Ottavio and McDonald each had three shots, two on goal, while Dyer and Pardue each added two shots, one on goal.  Senior keeper Kyra Byron|Richmond (Mills E. Godwin) played the duration in front of the net for the Lancers with two saves.  Longwood and Winthrop were playing for the first time in the sport of women’s soccer, and the Lancers now lead the series, 1-0.

Quoting Head Coach Todd Dyer
“It should be that hard to get a result against the first place team in the conference.  The game got away from us in the second half in terms of our possession and composure in our back half, but we showed some life again at the end of regulation. Overtime was thrilling and worth all the stress.  Mac and Kylie did a great job of combining on the goal after Otto forced a huge save early in the period.”

Recapping GWU
Longwood controlled the match throughout and led 1-0 at the intermission after Kelsey McDonald scored the opening goal at 25:45, finishing with a hard shot into the back of the net after collecting a loose ball in the left side of the box.  The Lancers led 1-0 at the intermission despite having a 14-0 advantage in shots.  Kelsey Pardue scored at 80:49 when she collected her own rebound from a saved penalty kick attempt by Bulldogs’ keeper Amy Schmitt and promptly placed the ball back into the net.  Longwood had a 22-2 advantage in shots, including 10-2 in attempts on goal, and had a 9-2 advantage on corner kicks, as well.  Pardue had six shots, four on goal, while McDonald added four shots, one on goal.  Kyra Byron played the duration in front for the Lancers with two saves en route to her fifth shutout this season, and the 12th shutout of her career to rank sixth all-time.  Longwood and Gardner-Webb were playing for the third time in the sport of women’s soccer and for the first time since 1998. The Lancers now lead the series, 2-1.

Quoting Head Coach Todd Dyer
“We created a lot of chances, especially in the first half, but we could have done much more with our finishing.  The second half was lackluster for us in a lot of areas, but we won’t complain about a 2-0 shutout in conference.”

Leading The Lancers
Kelsey Pardue leads Longwood, and the Big South, in scoring through 14 matches with her six goals and five assists totaling 17 points.  Kelsey McDonald adds three goals and three assists for nine points. Lindsey Ottavio adds two goals and three assists for seven points.  Kylie Dyer has three goals for six points.  Sophomore Samantha Phillips|Chesapeake (Grassfield) and freshman Haylea Witz|Chesapeake (Grassfield) each have two goals for four points.  Senior Nikki Glisson|Mechanicsville (Hanover), as well as freshmen Bridget Bergquist|Bristow (Brentsville) and Alana Mackey|Leesburg (Loudoun County) each add one goal for two points.  Sophomore Taylor Cave|Virginia Beach (Kellam) and freshman Olivia Colella|Herndon (Chantilly) each have one assist totaling one point. Kyra Byron has played 1144 minutes in front of the net, while allowing 12 goals (0.94) with 47 saves (.797) and 5.33 shutouts.  Junior keeper Shelby Hall|Purcellville (Loudoun Valley) has played 123 minutes in front of the net, while allowing three goals (2.20) with nine saves (.750) and 0.33 shutouts.  Redshirt-sophomore Dana Wallace|Charlottesville (Home Schooled) has played 12 minutes in front of the net with 0.33 shutouts.

In The Record Book
Kyra Byron ranks second in career goals against average (35-0.85), fifth in minutes (3707) and saves (150), and sixth in wins (20) and shutouts (12).  Lindsey Ottavio ranks tied for third in career goals (24), and  tied for fifth in points (58).  Kelsey Pardue is tied for fifth in career assists (18).

NCAA/Big South Statistics
Longwood ranked 44th in Division I winning percentage (.714) through Oct. 7, and 61st  in shutout percentage (.429). Kelsey Pardue ranked 18th in game-winning goals (4), 83rd in assists (5), 89th in points (17) and 122nd in goals (6).  Kyra Byron ranked 84th in goals against average (0.94), 121st in save percentage (.797) and 129th in minutes (1144).  In Big South-only matches (6), the Lancers are tied for first in goals allowed (4-0.67), second in goals against average (0.66), tied for second in shutouts (3-0.50), tied for third in goals (12-2.0), fourth in points (32-5.33) and fifth in assists (8-1.33).  Kelsey Pardue ranks first in points (14-2.33) and game-winning goals (3), and is tied for first in goals (5-0.83) and assists (4-0.67).  Kyra Byron is tied for second in shutouts (2-0.33), third in goals-against average (0.72) and is sixth in save percentage (.800). Kelsey McDonald is tied for fifth in points (8-1.33) and goals (3-0.50), and tied for eighth in assists (2-0.33).

Big South … Here We Are
Longwood has completed the non-league portion of its schedule and is playing only Big South matches the rest of the season.  The Lancers play 11-straight Big South contests from Sept. 20 to Oct. 23. The Big South Conference Tournament will include the top eight teams playing quarterfinal matches at the four highest seeds on Oct. 27, followed by semifinal matches on November 2 and the tournament championship contest on Nov. 4, hosted by Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Big South Conference/Attacking Player Of The Week
Kelsey Pardue was named the Big South Conference Attacking Player Of The Week Sept. 25 for her efforts during the 4-0 home win against UNC Asheville on Sept. 20 and the 2-1 overtime home win against Presbyterian on Sept. 22. She is Longwood’s third Big South Player of the Week (see below).  Pardue scored three goals -- two game-winners -- and added two assists to lead Longwood to a pair of Big South wins.  She was involved in all four scores against UNC Asheville, scoring the first and game-winning goal in the fourth minute with a hard shot into the net after a feed into the box.  Pardue returned the favor when she fed the ball in from the left side on the game’s second goal in the 12th minute, and added another assist as she played a through-ball in for a successful shot in the 19th minute.  She completed the scoring outburst when she got free down the middle of the field and beat the keeper one-on-one in the 21st minute.  Pardue capped her outstanding week with the game-winning goal in OT against Presbyterian.  She tallied the game-winner in the 105th minute when she dribbled up the middle through traffic and shot successfully to the right upper 90.  The talented third-year starter now totals 13 goals and 16 assists for 42 points in her career.  Pardue was also named the College Sports Madness Big South Player of the Week.

Big South Conference Defensive Player Of The Week
Kyra Byron was named the Big South Conference Defensive Player Of The Week Sept. 11 for her effort during a 1-0 shutout road victory at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County on Sept. 9.  She is Longwood’s second Big South Player of the Week.  Byron posted six saves for the Lancers against the Retrievers with five of her saves in the second half, including four after Longwood had taken a one-goal advantage.  It was the third shutout in six matches this season for Byron, the fourth-year team member who now totals 10 shutouts in her career to rank sixth all-time.

Big South Conference/Attacking Player Of The Week
Lindsey Ottavio was named the Big South Conference Attacking Player Of The Week August 28 for her effort during the 2-1 double-overtime home win past Richmond on August 24.  She is Longwood’s first Big South Player of the Week since the school joined the conference on July 1.  Ottavio scored two unassisted goals, including the game-winner just 50-seconds into the second extra period to lead the Lancers (3-1) past the Spiders.  She scored her first goal in the 65th minute, taking the ball through the middle of the box while beating both a defender and the keeper with a shot to the left side of the net at 64:35.  Ottavio finally ended the well-played match at 100:50 when she took a loose ball in the box and once again beat the keeper with a hard shot to the left side for the sudden victory.  The second-year team captain has eight game-winning goals in her career.  Ottavio was also named the College Sports Madness Big South Player of the Week.

Big South Network
Longwood produced its first-ever Big South Network live video-streamed broadcast against UNC Asheville on Sept. 20.  The Big South Network is the official video provider for all Big South Conference games. Each member institution is required to produce broadcasts for home events to be streamed via the conference network. The Lancers will stream three women’s soccer matches this fall, including the matches against visiting Winthrop University (Oct. 4) and Virginia Military Institute (Oct. 20).  The Big South Network has an archive of on-demand videos that can be viewed for free.  A paid subscription is required to view live events, with both single-game and season passes available.  You can view the Longwood Lancers TV page to watch all of the Lancers’ webcasts and see a schedule of upcoming events by visiting www.longwoodlancers.com or www.bigsouthsports.com.

No Place Like Home
Longwood is now 47-15-2 (.750) on its home turf at the Athletics Complex since beginning competition at the facility in 2006.  The Lancers, 7-1 at home this season, are 40-14-1 (.736) in Farmville since attaining its NCAA Division I certification and eligibility for 2007.

2012 Captains
Lindsey Ottavio is serving as a team captain for the second consecutive season, while senior Natalie Massey|Virginia Beach (Landstown) is in the team leadership role for the first time.

Youth Being Served
Ten freshmen and/or sophomores have made starts through the opening 14 matches.  The Lancers have nine true sophomores and 10 true freshmen among their 28-player roster, and all 19 of them have seen action this season.

Coaching Milestone: 200 Career Wins
Todd Dyer ‘93, enjoying his 19th year as the founder and head coach of the Longwood women’s soccer program, now has an overall record of 203-123-20, including 14 winning seasons. A former standout midfielder at Longwood, he served as a team captain for two years and scored 15 goals during his four years, earning All-Virginia Intercollegiate Soccer Association (VISA) honors as a senior.  A native of Manassas, Dyer earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education from Longwood in 1993.  He also coached the Longwood men’s soccer program for seven years (1996-2002), compiling a record of 75-53-7.

Quoting Head Coach Todd Dyer
“200 is a nice milestone and what it really reflects is that I’ve been fortunate to do what I love, at a place I love, for a long, long time. I’m blessed to have had the privilege of working with so many great people these past 19 years.  Our program’s future is very bright due to all of their hard work.”

The Coaching Staff
Head coach Todd Dyer’93  is assisted by associate head coach Steve Brdarski, in his ninth season, along with student assistant Rachel Powers ’14.

Up Next Week
Longwood will remain on the road for another Big South match at Radford University on Thursday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m., before returning home for its final regular season home contest and Senior Night against VMI on Saturday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m.

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WOMEN’S COLLEGE SOCCER
For Immediate Release: October 10, 2012
Contact: Greg Prouty
proutygd@longwood.edu

KELSEY McDONALD NAMED BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE WOMEN’S SOCCER ATTACKING PLAYER OF THE WEEK
FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University sophomore forward Kelsey McDonald|Kennett Square, Pa. (Unionville) has been named this week’s Big South Conference Women’s Soccer Attacking Player Of The Week for her efforts during two conference wins against Winthrop on October 4 and Gardner-Webb on Oct. 6.  She scored two goals, including one game-winner, and added one assist to lead Longwood to a pair of Big South home wins.  The Lancers defeated the Eagles 2-1 in overtime as McDonald was involved in both scores.  She scored the first goal in the 22nd minute, finishing a well-played through ball on the left side to help the team to a 1-0 advantage at the intermission, and provided the assist on the game-winning goal in the 94th minute when she delivered a nice ball into the box from the left side once again.  McDonald capped her outstanding week with the first and game-winning goal in the 26th minute of a 2-0 win against the Bulldogs, collecting a loose ball in the box and finishing with a hard shot into the back of the net.  The talented second-year starter is second on the team in scoring this season with three goals and three assists for nine points, and totals five goals and five assists in 32 career matches.  McDonald is Longwood’s fourth Big South Women’s Soccer Player of the Week (Lindsey Ottavio-Attacking, August 28; Kyra Byron-Defensive, Sept. 11; Kelsey Pardue-Attacking, Sept. 25) this season.