It took 108 minutes, but senior defender Jessica O’Bryant’s goal gave Longwood a 2-1 come from behind win over Saint Francis on Sept. 18. The win improved the Lancers to 3-6-0, as they rounded out non-conference play for the season.
The Red Flash opened the scoring just eight minutes in, as freshman forward Alyssa McGhee slipped into the box and slotted home to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage. Saint Francis carried that advantage into halftime, where the Lancers regrouped for the second half, according to head coach Todd Dyer.
“We had an honest conversation at halftime in the locker room, and the team was challenged to respond, and they definitely did,” said Dyer. “We just had to start moving and competing and grinding, and once we did…you kind of just claw your way back into the game.”
The hosts came out with more energy after the break, and their endeavors brought an equalizer in the 52nd minute. After the Red Flash failed to clear a corner kick, sophomore defender Sydney Wallace put the rebound away to make it 1-1.
Following the goal, Longwood rode their luck as Saint Francis struck the post in the 73rd minute. However the Lancers held off the visitor’s attack to force overtime.
The extra periods were largely uneventful, until sophomore midfielder Annie Boros had a shot cleared off the line in the 108th minute, forcing a corner kick. The resulting corner from junior midfielder Janese Quick led to a goalmouth scramble, and O’Bryant bundled the ball in to give Longwood a 2-1 win.
“It’s great to get the win, especially because we were down a goal,” said O’Bryant. “And it puts us at a really good place going into conference (play).”
Speaking about the goal, O’Bryant added, “I didn’t even get a clean strike on it, but I knew that if I threw my body in front of it, that it might go in, and so I took that chance, and it did. You just got to go for everything…it might not look pretty but, you have to go for everything, because a goal’s a goal, no matter what it looks like.”
Despite facing 24 shots, the Lancer backline kept the Red Flash at bay after the opening goal.
“(The team) just contained them in front,” said Wallace, who played the entire 108 minutes. “I feel pretty good, I think our whole team feels pretty good too. We gave it our all (in) the second half, wish we started like that in the first (half).”
With non-conference play wrapped up, the team’s next game is Sept. 24 against Gardner-Webb. Dyer promised that if nothing else, Big South play will be interesting to watch with his squad.
“I honestly believe we’re good enough and bad enough to win or lose every single game we have ahead of us right now.”