The Longwood Lancers men's soccer squad won a closely contested double overtime game against in-state opponent Radford University on Oct. 5. Sophomore Nick Surkamp scored the match-winning goal on a header after receiving a ball from junior Vinnie Llana in the 106th minute. Longwood defeated the Big South opponent 1-0. The men's team then played against the Adelphi University Panthers on Oct. 8 in Garden City, N.Y as part of their competition against Atlantic Soccer Conference (ASC) members. The Lancers lost 2-1 against the Panthers. Surkamp scored the only Lancer goal in the 51st minute, while the Panthers scored two goals late in the game to take down Longwood. Things did not get any better for the Lancers on Oct. 11 as they lost 1-0 in double overtime to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, another ASC opponent. That game was played in Newark, N.J.
Longwood continued their road trip with a visit to Davidson College in North Carolina on Oct. 15. The men's team came away victorious, defeating Davidson 2-0. Freshman Zach Crandall scored the game-winning goal in the 13th minute, while Surkamp scored an insurance goal in the second half. Senior goalkeeper Joel Helmick shut down the Wildcats to record his fourth shutout of 2011. The Lancers are now 7-6-1 this season.
Longwood came out of the gate strong when Crandall maneuvered through Davidson's defense and sent the ball into the net. Longwood continued to dominate the pace of play during the first half holding a 7-3 advantage in shots and a 7-2 edge in corner kicks.
In the second half, both the Lancers and Wildcats took five shots and one corner kick. Surkamp's goal in the 90th minute was a hard shot from nearly 20 yards out that found the net. It gave the Lancers a 2-0 advantage that they did not relinquish.
Longwood held a 12-8 advantage in shots attempted (8-2 shots on goal). The Lancers also had an 8-3 edge in corner kicks. Crandall had a game-high five shot attempts. Helmick had one save in the shutout. Alex Givens attempted two shots for the Wildcats in the loss. Chip Sanders, the Davidson goalie, had five saves while playing all 90 minutes.
"I thought this was a thoroughly workman-like performance which led to a great result," said head coach Jon Atkinson in a press release on longwoodlancers.com. "I was impressed with how Davidson played and battled, but overall, I think we deserved it over the 90 minutes. It is not easy to win on the road, and this result will help build the belief, and help erase the disappointment, of last weekend. We don't have long to enjoy this victory before licking horns with a very capable UNC Greensboro outfit, but on the same token, I'm excited to see how far this young team can go."
The men's soccer team continues playing on the road tonight, Oct. 19, when it faces UNC Greensboro at 7 p.m. in Greensboro, N. C.
