Thus far, it has been a season of cheerful victories and crushing defeats for Longwood men’s soccer. The club rushed out to a quick 3-1 start, with victories over Howard, VMI and Robert Morris, all by a combined score of 11-1. However, the team has dropped three in a row, two to ranked opponents (per United Soccer Coaches Poll) in Navy (25) and James Madison (20), and their last match to conference opponet, Gardner-Webb.
The first two losses came on the Lancers home field, and were narrow defeats, as the team fell by one goal in each of the contests. Saturday's loss was a 3-1 defeat,on the road, in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.
For head coach John Atkinson, despite the three game skid, he feels the team has performed “admirably” thus far, and is also encouraged by the increased maturity of this year’s side.
“Certainly we’ve seen the games show a lot of potential, a lot of potential being realized,” he said. “Still a lot of growth that needs to be realized if we really want to argue in the postseason accolades.”
Atkinson pointed to the caliber of team the Lancers have taken on in their past two contests, before Saturday's, and said their ability to hang in with teams of said caliber raises team morale moving forward.
“They executed game plans in both games and put us within striking distance; and with that, there is a lot of success to be had,” said Atkinson. “Now, who doesn’t want to win these games? I think that it would be phenomenal for the program to get that, but maybe our time is just not ready just yet, and I think that’s something we have to be humble about, and understand that there is still areas to grow, and take games into our favor after the 90 minutes.”
Before the season Atkinson said his team’s defense had to raise their level for the team to be successful, and so far, they are answering the call.
The Lancers backline has only surrendered eight goals on the season, which currently is third in the Big South Conference. At this same point a season ago, the team had surrendered 19.
A key contributor to the turnaround is sophomore Jonas Kalchner. The native of Eichenau, Germany was awarded Big South Defensive Player of the Week honors for the opening week of the campaign and is one of the anchors of a defense that currently sits at second in the Big South Conference in shutouts.
“I think overall we have did a good job so far. I think we as a team are closer, we have gotten to know each other, (and) we know what system we are going to play,” he said. “It’s just confidence that the next game is going to be better and we will have the wins.”
Another massive part to the Lancer defense has been goalkeeper Jacob Reimers. The 6’ 4” junior has showed stellar play in net for the team, making many key saves thought the season and keeping opposing offenses at bay. The stats also reflect this, as he currently third in the conference in save percentage at 77 percent.
The Longwood offense has also held their own for the most part throughout the campaign, as they currently sit third in the Big South with 13 goals.
Senior Mikel Abando and junior Ander Etxaniz currently lead the team in goals with four, and also are tied for third in the conference for the stat.
Despite the flashy numbers, Atkinson said the team still has to put together a full 90-minute performance.
“There is an old adage ‘it’s easier to destroy, than build up’, and I thought that in the James Madison game we destroyed a lot of what (sic.) were about,” he said. “Now it’s a chance for us to see what we can do to build and take away from teams that, you know, may give us more opportunity with the ball, and I think that’s where the challenges still lie.
He added, “Are we able to have that cohesion, and that, again, the communication and leadership that allows us to play the type of football that we’ve seen in fits and starts, but never fully for 90 minutes.
Atkinson said the team can reach their full potential by becoming more clinical in everything they do, moving forward. With this, he feels the team can reach their full potential as a unit.
The Lancers will continue their journey on Tuesday, as they take on the Patriots from George Mason University at the Longwood Athletics Complex, beginning at 7 p.m.
Junior goalkeeper Jacob Reimers sends a goal kick downfield in the team's recent loss to James Madison.
