A pair of first half goals carried Longwood (5-3-0, 1-0-0) to a 2-0 shutout win over the visiting University of Portland Pilots (2-5-2) last Thursday, Oct. 1.
The scoring began within the first four minutes of the match as a cross from senior midfielder Will Lambert was headed on frame by redshirt freshman Willy Miezan for his seventh goal this season.
Lambert played a three-point game, adding the second goal of the half from the top right of the box.
"I may have been the one credited with the goal and assist, but this is definitely a team win for us," said Lambert.
Anchoring the defensive effort to maintain the shutout in the second half, junior goalkeeper Carlos Canas made three saves for Longwood, compared to the one save he had to make in the first.
"The guys in front of me really stepped up," said Canas on the Longwood athletics official website. "Everybody on the team really stepped up. I thought today we truly played as a team, where at times in our other games I felt we may have been trying to do too much individually."
Longwood put eight shots on frame, two times more than the Pilots. However, overall, Portland outshot Longwood 15-14.
Four of the Pilots’ 15 came from senior defender Hugo Rhoads.
The second half saw Portland earn seven opportunities off of corner kicks, unable to capitalize on any to close the gap.
The Pilots were coming off a 1-0 win against Oregon State a game prior to facing Longwood.
This was Longwood’s second to last nonconference opponent before the schedule is solely Big South teams.
The Lancers will travel to Radford University (7-1-1, 2-0-0)on Wednesday, Oct. 7. The Highlanders are currently at the top of conference standings and are No. 1 in the conference for goals scored (19), assists (16) and points (54).
Longwood is still undefeated in the Big South with only one game under their belt after their 2-1 win against Campbell on Sept. 27.
Last Thursday, Oct. 1 saw redshirt freshman Willy Miezan and senior midfielder Will Lambert connect to score early in the first half for Longwood, off Miezan's head. Lambert later scored a goal of his own, adding to his role in the 2-0 win over University of Portland.
