In their first Big South matchup, Longwood men's soccer (0-8-1) fell 1-0 in extra time to the Winthrop Eagles after the completion of the scoreless regulation period.
Three minutes into the first overtime, a Winthrop (3-6-1) corner kick soared high before the head of junior defender Charlie Ramirez guided the ball into the Lancers' net for his first goal of the season.
Throughout the first half, it was difficult to discern who had the edge in the matchup. Both teams had difficulty advancing the ball up field, and their attacks couldn't take advantage of their set pieces.
Winthrop fired more shots toward net, earning 11 shots in the first half compared to Longwood’s four.
“A lot of the performance leading up to this was full of energy," said Longwood men's soccer coach Jon Atkinson. "Tonight showed a lot of insecurity in our play and that translated to the final result."
First half standouts for the Lancers were defenders redshirt junior Ryan Fleming and senior Marten Pajunurm, who were both instrumental in keeping the Eagles away from the goal.
Play intensified in the second half along as the conference competitors became more physical, leading to four yellow cards, split evenly between both teams.
As the second half remained scoreless, the game was sent into a 10 minute overtime period with a sudden-death format.
As soon as overtime began it was clear that Winthrop was firing on all cylinders, having four shots on goal, eventually silencing the Lancers in only three minutes and 34 seconds.
Sophomore midfielder Connor Rea described Longwood's play as “sloppy” and “weren’t really communicating.”
He added the team needed to “stay positive” in order to battle their recent scoring drought in future matchups - and "get some goals."
The Lancers look to the future, and focus on their Oct. 3 matchup at Liberty University. Longwood defeated Liberty last year in a 4-3 overtime thriller in Farmville, and the Lancers have their minds set on victory again against the regional rivals.
Senior midfielder Dan Campos earned several opportunities for the Lancers during Saturday night's game, including a free kick knocked high over the cross bar.
Junior midfielder Josh Hanratty quarreled with the referee throughout the match, eventually earning a yellow card in the 66th minute.
Senior midfielder Eoin O'Donovan started for the Lancers.
