Longwood's women's soccer team fought hard to a 1-1 tie against Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) last Friday night. The game, played at the Athletics Complex in Farmville, went into double-overtime. Senior captain Kacie Oliver scored the lone goal for the Lancers in the 51st minute. Sophomore Kelsey Pardue assisted on the play. Nicole Donnelly scored the only goal for the Colonels late in the going at the 86th minute. The game against Eastern Kentucky was Senior Night for the Lancers. Longwood recognized all eight senior team members in a ceremony before the game. Katie Devlin, Alex Myers, Alecia McConnell, Kristen McGough, Kacie Oliver, Dylan Spicker, Mackenzie King, Soraya Serra and two-year team manager Caitlin Newton were the seniors who were honored.
Longwood and Eastern Kentucky fiercly battled each other but remained scoreless at the half. The Lancers dominated possession in the first 45 minutes, holding a 4-1 advantage in shots attempted. Longwood continued to keep up the pace in the second half when Oliver's shot found the net at 50:42. Pardue passed the ball to Oliver who was one-on-one with the Colonels' keeper. Oliver sent the ball soaring into the back right of the net. Longwood continued to hold EKU at bay, until the Colonels turned the momentum. EKU had plenty of opportunities to score, finally breaking through at 85:55, when Donnelly's shot found the net. A Longwood defender stopped a final shot attempt just as regulation ended.
EKU was able to get off four shots in the first 10-minute overtime period. Kyra Byron, Longwood's junior goalie, stopped three of the shots that were on goal. Junior captain Lindsey Ottavio just barely missed putting the game away when she had a shot blocked by the Colonel keeper Annie Wickett. Longwood and EKU continued to trade shot attempts as time expired in the second overtime period.
"We would have liked to get a win for our seniors tonight, but a hard fought tie against an EKU team that gave us a lot of trouble will just have to do for now," said head coach Todd Dyer on longwoodlancers.com. "I think everyone was just so emotionally invested in the occasion (Senior Night), that it put us off a little bit in terms of our technique on the ball and overall possession. Still, we created some really good scoring chances that just didn't quite work out for us. If they had, especially early, I think we would have settled in a bit and been better off over the course of 90 minutes. And with the season we've had, of course it had to go into overtime. However, the 1-1 result did ensure that this senior class earned a winning record on our home field and that means a great deal."
EKU had a 19-12 edge in shots attempted (10-8 on-goal). They also had a 13-4 advantage in corner kicks. Pardue had four shots for the Lancers, while Ottavio had two shots. Byron played all 90 minues for Longwood. She had eight saves which tied her high for 2011.
The women's team then traveled to Morehead, K.Y. last Sunday to take on Morehead State University. The team lost 3-2 in double-overtime against the Eagles. Ottavio and freshman Kelsey McDonald both scored for the Lancers in the contest. It was a program-record eighth overtime game for Longwood this season. The Lancers are now 6-7-4 this season.
Longwood fell behind early when Morehead State scored in just the third minute. The Lancers recovered just under a minute later when Ottavio sent her goal flying into the net. The score was still tied1-1 at the half. The Eagles scored again at 56:21 giving them a 2-1 lead. Longwood came back to tie the game at two apiece after McDonald's goal. Neither team scored again in regulation, sending the game to extra time. The Eagles had two shot attempts in the first overtime period, both of which were blocked by Longwood's keeper, Shelby Hall. In the second overtime period, the Eagles' Caity Fox broke through with the game-winner.
The women's team closes out their season on Sunday, Oct. 30 at Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C.