Lancers beat Howard 1-0

Longwood Senior keeper Kyra Byron

LONGWOOD WINS ON THE ROAD AT HOWARD 1-0

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Longwood University took a 1-0 non-conference women’s soccer shutout victory on the road past Howard University of the Great West Conference Monday night in Washington, D.C.  Freshman Haylea Witz|Chesapeake (Grassfield) scored the game-winning goal unassisted in the 69th minute for the Lancers (3-1), who won their second-straight match, while senior keeper Kyra Byron|Richmond (Mills. E. Godwin) posted the shutout.  Longwood will play again on Sunday afternoon, September 2, at Appalachian State University of the Southern Conference in Boone, North Carolina beginning at 12 p.m.
 

“It’s always hard to come here and get a result against Howard,” said 19th year head coach Todd Dyer ‘93.  “Their very well organized and very stubborn on defensive.  Offensively, we were dangerous and created chances, and all it takes is one and we got that.  Defensively, we’re on the road and we earned a shutout ... it’s always tough at Howard.” 

Longwood and Howard battled scoreless through the first 45 minutes, and through about half of the second half before Witz collected a deflected shot on the far post and beat the keeper to the top left corner at 68:16.  The Lancers had missed on a penalty kick opportunity about five minutes earlier in the 64th minute after a player was dragged down in the box.
 

Longwood took a 17-6 advantage in shots, including 5-1 in attempts on goal, and the Lancers had a 7-1 edge in corner kicks too.  Junior Kelsey Pardue|Henrico (Hermitage) had seven shots, one on goal, and senior Nikki Glisson|Mechanicsville (Hanover) had her three shots, one on goal for Longwood.  Byron played the duration in front of the net for the Lancers with one save for her ninth career shutout.
 

Nia Walcott had two shots, one on goal, to lead Howard while Kyra Dickinson played the duration for the Bison with four saves.
 

Longwood and Howard were playing for the 13th time in the sport of women’s soccer, and the Lancers lead the series, 11-2.

Virginia Colleges In National Top 25 Rankings

Top 25

Soccer America Men's Top 25 (Aug. 27)
TEAM (2011 RECORD) LAST WEEK

11. Old Dominion (1-0-0) 12


Soccer America Women's Preseason Top 25 (Aug. 28)
TEAM (2011 RECORD) LAST WEEK

7. Virginia (3-1-0) 8
17. Virginia Tech (3-0-0) 22

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Top 25 - 7th Poll

NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Men's - National - Poll 1 - August 28, 2012

19. Old Dominion

*Also receiving votes: UVA, JMU

NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Women's - National - Poll 2 - August 28, 2012

10. Virginia
13. Virginia Tech

Longwood Women beat Richmond in Double OT 2-1

Lindsey Ottavio, photo credit: Red Rocket Photos

LONGWOOD DEFEATS VISITING RICHMOND IN SECOND OVERTIME 2-1

FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University took a 2-1 non-conference women’s soccer double-overtime home victory past the visiting University of Richmond from the Atlantic 10 Conference Friday night at the Athletics Complex in Farmville.  Senior captain Lindsey Ottavio|Fairfax (W.T. Woodson) scored both goals unassisted for the Lancers (2-1), including the exciting game-winner just 50-seconds into the second extra period.  Ottavio scored her first goal in the 65th minute after the hosts and Spiders (0-3) were scoreless at the intermission.  Longwood will play again on Monday night, August 27, at Howard University of the Great West Conference in Washington, D.C. beginning at 7 p.m.
    
“It’s always exciting to win on a golden goal and to do it against Richmond, one of the strongest teams we face all year, makes it that much more special,” said 19th year head coach Todd Dyer ‘93.  “The first half was relatively even, though we definitely had to weather the storm defensively in the second half.  But even with all of their possession, it took a set piece for them to break us down.
    
“Otto was an absolute force tonight on both goals, and simply would not be denied.  She deserves her hero status for the night.”
    
Longwood and Richmond battled scoreless through the first 45 minutes, and through nearly 20 minutes of the second half before Ottavio took the ball through the middle of the box while beating a defender and the keeper with a shot to the left side of the net at 64:35.  The Spiders, however, controlled most of the action for the remainder of the period and finally moved the net on a header by Ashley Williams from a corner kick by Natalie LeClair in the 78th minute.  It was 1-1 following 90 minutes of regulation, and it remained that way after the first 10-minute overtime session.  Ottaviofinally ended the well-played match successfully for the Lancers 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.
    
Richmond took a 17-8 advantage in shots, including 10-5 in attempts on goal, and the Spiders had an 8-3 edge in corner kicks too.  Junior Kelsey Pardue|Henrico (Hermitage) had three shots, two on goal, and Ottavio had her two shots, on goal for Longwood.  Senior keeper Kyra Byron|Richmond (Mills. E. Godwin) played the duration in front of the net for the Lancers with nine saves.
    
LeClair had four shots, three on goal, to lead Richmond while Andrea Young played the duration for the Spiders with three saves.
    
Longwood and Richmond were playing for the seventh time in the sport of women’s soccer, and the Spiders still lead the close series, 3-2-2.

Tribe Lose to Tennessee in double OT

Knoxville, Tenn. - The William and Mary women's soccer team dropped a hard fought, 1-0, overtime match Friday night to the Tennessee Lady Volunteers.  After 90 minutes of action, the two teams needed extra time to settle the dispute.  In the 107th minute of the second overtime, Tennessee netted the deciding goal on a penalty kick.  The Tribe falls to 0-2 on the year, while UT improves to 3-0 on the season.

"We battled hard," stated head coach John Daly. "Our possession needed to be better tonight but with that being said, Caroline Casey was outstanding in goal and our defense played well."

After withstanding an early Tennessee attack in the opening minutes of the match, sophomore Aly Shaughnessy countered for the Tribe with a shot on goal in the 13th minute.  For the remainder of the half, W&M kept the Lady Vols scoreless as freshman keeper Caroline Casey recorded three saves.

As the second half started, the Green and Gold wasted little time in getting off to an opportunistic start.  Senior Cortlyn Bristol fired a shot on goal in the 48th minute, but was turned away by Tennessee sophomore keeper Julie Eckel.  After getting an early shot on frame, W&M fended off multiple UT charges until regulation ended in a scoreless tie.

The College turned up the pressure in the first overtime period, taking two shots on goal and a total of three shots in the span of four minutes.  In the 92nd minute, Bristol launched a shot on goal and moments later the Chantilly, Va., native fired another quality shot on frame, but was turned back on consecutive attempts.

Tennessee came out applying the pressure in the second overtime period.  The Vols mounted numerous attacks on goal, but were denied each time by Casey.  For the match, Casey tallied a career-high nine saves.  With under four minutes remaining in the contest, Tennessee's junior Caroline Brown scored the game-winner on a penalty kick.

The College concludes play in the First Tennessee Lady Vol Classic on Sunday, Aug. 26, against the Akron Zips in a match slated for 12:30 p.m.  Fans can follow the action at TribeAthletics.com with live stats.

Longwood Shutout by No. 17 Coastal Carolina to begin season

LONGWOOD DROPS SEASON OPENER 4-0 to #17 COASTAL CAROLINA\

CONWAY, S.C. -- The Longwood University men’s soccer team was defeated by #17 Coastal Carolina University, 4-0, in the Lancers’ 2012 season opener and first-ever Big South Conference matchup at CCU Soccer Field in Conway, S.C. on Friday evening. The Chanticleers (1-0) outshot the Lancers (0-1), 24-2, en route to earning the victory in what turned out to be a very physical outing. Longwood returns to action on Tuesday, August 28 at 5 p.m. when the squad travels to Presbyterian College for its second of three-straight conference contests beginning at 5 p.m.

“We came up against a seasoned team tonight and while we didn’t back down, we just couldn’t match their quality,” said head coach Jon Atkinson. “It would have been nice to not have gifted their opening goals, as we felt the longer the game wore on, the better our chances would have been, but we give Coastal their credit. We saw a caliber team this evening and last year’s Big South Conference champs and it has showed our team the level they must achieve to become a player at this level. We will regroup and prepare for what will be a quick turnaround and a good opportunity to bounce back on Tuesday at Presbyterian.”

The teams battled through 27 minutes of scoreless play before Coastal Carolina took a 1-0 lead in the 28^thminute of play, as Justin Portillo received a pass from Ashton Bennett and made two touches to beat sophomore goalkeeper Paul Hegedus|Ashburn (Broad Run) to the right post.

Just over a minute later, Coastal sent a cross in front of the net that was deflected off the head of a Longwood defender for an own goal, making it a 2-0 game.  

Bennett sealed the victory for the Chanticleers with two goals in the second half. His first came in the 74th minute of play, when he dribbled to the left side of the box and fired a shot hard and low past freshman goalkeeper Carl Carpenter|Charlottesville (St. Anne’s Belfield). Less than ten minutes later, Bennett struck again, this time finding the back of the net off a pass from Shawn McClaws.

Vinnie Llana|Raleigh, N.C. (Broughton) and Anthony Ugorji|Washington, D.C. (Archbishop Carroll) tallied one shot apiece for the Lancers. Ugorji notched Longwood’s lone shot on goal of the outing. Bennett led all players with a game-high seven shots, including four on goal.

Carpenter registered eight saves in his collegiate debut, seeing 53:42 minutes of action after coming off the bench in the first half. Hegedus notched one save in 36:18 minutes in front of the net.

Friday’s match marked the second meeting all-time between Longwood and Coastal Carolina, with the Chanticleers tying the series at one a side.