The Longwood women’s soccer team (1-1-0) was unable to cash in on late goal-scoring opportunities in a very physical 1-0 loss to the Youngstown State Penguins (2-0-0) in front of a capacity crowd Sunday night.
“I thought we were really, really flat,” said head coach Todd Dyer.
After blanking the American University Eagles (0-2-0) 2-0 just two nights earlier, the Lancers were unable to get things going on the offensive side in the sixth edition of the G.A.M.E (Greatest Athletics March Ever), Longwood’s annual pep rally at the conclusion of New Lancer Days.
“On one of the biggest occasions in our season we just didn’t rise to the occasion in terms of our energy level, our commitment to play soccer,” said Dyer. “We just kind of lost our minds a little bit and we were definitely out of character today.”
Youngstown State freshman midfielder Madison Hughes broke a scoreless game in the 62nd minute for her first collegiate goal through traffic in the box for the decisive blow.
Sunday’s game also included three yellow cards and both teams only combined for four shots on goal when it was all said and done.
“We figured they were going to be a pretty direct, blue-collar team and try to create a little chaos in the box, and that’s exactly how they got their goal,” said Dyer.
Longwood outshot the Penguins 11 to- 10 and had seven corner kicks, three coming on one single possession with less than 10 ten minutes to play, but were unable to find the back of the net before time expired.
“Maybe we were a little anxious with the big crowd, but Youngstown State was organized defensively; they were tough to breakdown,” said Dyer. “We had some chances, but no great ones.”
Of the 11 shots on the night for the Lancers, only one was on goal compared to Friday’s 2-0 win where eight of their shots were on goal.
“I don’t think our fatigue (was physical), I think it was more of a mental lapse,” said junior forward Amanda Spencer, who fired two shots of her own in 75 minutes of action.
Sunday also marked the fifth time in the past six seasons that the G.A.M.E. featured the women’s soccer team.
“It’s great,” said Spencer on the atmosphere. “It’s good to see the school support here.”
After Sunday’s loss, the Lancers have a full week before welcoming in Howard University (1-1-0) to close out their home stand just before a five game road swing over an 18-day period.
The Bison are coming off a 17-0 thrashing of Hampton University and will take on Princeton Friday night, August 28 before making the trip to Farmville on August 30th.
“I think we just have to get our minds right and remember that (a shutout) shouldn’t happen again,” said Spencer.
“We’re a better soccer team than we showed today, but talk is cheap,” said Dyer. “We’ve got to prove it, so we’ll get back to work on Tuesday and see if we can start to improve and get ready for Howard .”
Longwood women's soccer fell to Ohio's Youngstown State 1-0 in their second regular season game.
Senior defender Alana Mackey was one of the few players to remain in the game for a full 90 minutes of play.
Numerous late in the game opportunities appeared for Longwood following the Youngstown State goal.
