The LU women’s soccer team played two games this week to open the Big South portion of their 2013 schedule. First, the Lancers battled Coastal Carolina University (4-5-1, 1-1-0 Big South) this past Wednesday night, Sept. 25, at the Athletic Complex in Farmville, winning their first Big South Conference game 1-0 in double-overtime.
When asked how to prepare for going up against the Chanticleers, a tough opponent from previous years, and how to prepare for the first conference game of the season, head coach Todd Dyer said, “We just knew they were a good team that had beaten us last year and it was going to be a grind, which it was, so it was a matter of us staying disciplined defensively, try to win as many of the physical battles as we can, and then finish our chance or chances as they came about.”
The Lancers (3-5-2, 2-0-0 Big South) had a trying start to the first half, but when they got the ball up the field, they led shots on goal 5-4 to the Chanticleers. The opportunities were there, but both teams played well in an evenly contested match-up. With that said, the first half concluded with a 0-0 score.
The second half was played similarly to the first; however, Longwood played more of an offensively strategic game with 5-2 shots on goal over Coastal and had close scoring attempts, but just could not get it past Megan Spencer, Coastal’s senior goalkeeper; same for Longwood graduate goalkeeper Shelby Hall. The second half ended in a 0-0 stalemate, which led to an overtime opportunity.
The first five-minute overtime, both teams played well despite the pressure and aggressive style of play. With no goals, or shots on goal, the Lancers and Chanticleers went into a double-overtime. In the 106th minute of the game, Senior Kelsey Pardue scored the game-winning goal. It was a sensational goal, unassisted and from the left side put in the left corner past Spencer, making the final score 1-0 and giving the Lancers a huge win.
When asked if anything had changed going into overtime, Dyer said, “At that point you’ve worked so hard, you’ve put so much into it, the message is be smart, be safe in the back half of the field and just keep battling, and when you get your chance, somebody go have a moment, well Pardue had her moment, and that was good enough for all of us.
“Coastal is one of the best teams in the league, they beat us last year. It was going to be difficult on our field or their field, but we’re just happy with the result. The girls have been working so hard for so long they deserve to feel something like this. I’m glad it worked out that way.”
The Lancers also secured a crucial result at Winthrop this weekend, beating the Eagles 3-0.
Longwood will be away at VMI tonight in Lexington. The Lancers will be back in Farmville on Saturday against Radford at the Athletics Complex at 7 p.m.
