The Longwood women’s soccer team fell to the hands of a second half comeback by the Campbell Fightin’ Camels on Wednesday night 2-1, in a showdown of top four teams in the Big South standings.
The Camels (11-6-0, 6-3-0) entered the game with a one-point advantage over the Lancers for third place with Coastal Carolina and Liberty in first and second, respectively. The comeback erased an early 1-0 deficit when the Lancers got onto the board with a goal from sophomore midfielder Janese Quick, her first career goal.
Things looked promising for the Lancers who held a 1-0 lead at the half after Quick’s goal in the ninth minute, but Campbell came storming back with goals in the 57th and 63rd minutes to steal a win on the road.
"When we played soccer, we did a lot of good things in terms of creating chances and scoring a nice goal," said Longwood head coach Todd Dyer on the official athletics website. "When we lost our composure and stopped playing soccer, we had to defend more than we should have, and we compounded that by allowing too much time and space to dangerous players. Ultimately, we paid for that."
The Lancers had strung together a five game unbeaten streak prior to the loss that included three wins and two ties. That streak started after a 2-1 overtime loss to the first place Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.
Longwood did have their fair share of opportunities to add onto their lead, but were unable to capitalize on the four ensuing shots on goal shortly after Quick’s goal. The inability to cash in allowed the Camels to hang around and strike in the second half.
Saturday’s game gave the Lancers a fairly quick two-day turnaround to return in the win column and stay within striking distance of the top four.
The 1-0 win over the UNC Asheville Bulldogs did just that, their ninth victory of the season. Every single win for the Lancers this campaign has come via shutout.
This particular shutout was extra special for the Lancer defense as they were taking on the top scoring offense in the Big South who averaged just a shade fewer than two goals per game. The Bulldogs had scored 33 goals in conference play, but were only able to send one shot on goal during the full 90 minutes.
"It was a tight game against a tough team, but we were able to grind out a result and earn another shutout," said Dyer on the official athletics website.
The lone goal of the afternoon came from the foot of senior midfielder Bridget Bergquist in the 23rd minute proved to be enough to keep the Lancers one point behind High Point for fifth place in the standings.
"We finished conference play undefeated on the road, and that shows a lot about the character of this team. Now we need to show that same determination at home against Liberty Tuesday,” said Dyer.
Tuesday evening the Lancers will spend Senior Night taking on their biggest rival Liberty Flames on the Big South Network.
A win will give the Lancers a chance to finish in the top four and an opportunity to host a quarterfinal match in the Big South Conference Tournament that starts this upcoming Friday, Oct. 30.
