The Longwood Lancers men's soccer team defeated Towson University from the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) on Saturday, Sept. 17. The game was held at the Athletics Complex in Farmville. Lancer senior Chris Saul scored the only goal of the match in the39th minute. Senior goalkeeper Joel Helmick had three saves in the shut-out. Longwood's record is now 2-3-1 this season.
Saul's goal in the 39th minute came when he launched a beautiful shot from 25 yards out on the right wing. It was all Longwood would need to hang on for their second victory of the year. Longwood's defense held serve in the first half, especially on three corner kicks from Towson. Longwood continued to be aggressive in the second half. They outshot Towson 6-3 in the last 45 minutes. Sophomore Nick Surkamp attempted a shot in the63rd minute that was saved. Senior Zach Mahon also attempted a shot in the77th minute that scooted past the Tigers' goalkeeper, but was saved by a defender.
"We have played better and lost, so I will take this result," said head coachJon Atkinson on longwoodlancers.com. "Fair play to Towson as they pegged us back for large parts of the game, but credit to the team for the amount of work they put in to keep Towson off the board. Our back line was big tonight and Joel's presence in goal was a significant factor. Chris Saul will grab the headlines, and deservedly so with a game-winner, but I'm sure he will be the first to acknowledge this was a team effort that got us the win."
Longwood outshot Towson 8-7 during the match, including 4-3 in shots on goal. Towson had a 4-3 edge in corner kicks over Longwood. Surkamp led the home team Lancers with three shots, including two shots on goal. Helmick recorded his three saves which was good enough for his tenth career collegiate shutout. It was his second shutout this season. Olakunle Banjo led Towson with two shots on goal, while John Steele had two saves and allowed Surkamp's goal in the loss.
Longwood goes back to work on Wednesday, Sept. 21, when the team travels to Lexington, Va. to take on the Virginia Military Institute at 4 p.m. Other upcoming matches for the men's team include a home contest against UMBC on Sept. 24 at 7p.m. and an away contest against Navy on Sept. 27. After that, the Lancers come home for two games against Richmond on Oct. 1 and Radford on Oct. 5.
