September 22, 2010

Box Score

FARMVILLE, Va. - The Longwood University men's soccer team battled to a 1-1 double-overtime tie with Virginia Commonwealth University of the Colonial Athletic Association on a stormy Wednesday evening at the Athletics Complex in Farmville. The match was delayed for 57 minutes during halftime due to lightning in the area. Junior Zack Mahon | San Antonio, Texas (William Howard Taft) scored his second goal of the season in the 62nd minute for Longwood (0-6-1). The Lancers return to action on Saturday, September 25, when they travel to Radford to take on Radford University at 6 p.m..

“We got a tremendous and well-deserved result tonight,” said sixth-year head coach Jon Atkinson. “Our hard work and discipline paid off. It was tough going down to 10 players against a good VCU squad. We've had some bumps in the road, and we hope this is going to show we can compete. Now consistency is the most important thing, as one result does not make a season.”

Both teams tried to find a rhythm in the first half. VCU (3-1-2) outshot Longwood 5-4 during the opening period, but the Longwood defense held strong, anchored by junior goalkeeper Joel Helmick | Springfield (W.T. Woodson) who had two saves in the first half. Freshman Nick Surkamp | Manassas (Osbourn Park) had an open look from just outside the penalty box, but the VCU goalkeeper came up with the save in the 37th minute to keep the match scoreless.

After the lightning delay, the Lancers scored first when senior Harvey Headley | Coventry, England (Stoke Park) sent a free kick into the box. Sophomore Mike da Fonte | Ossining, N.Y. (Bryant) got his head on the ball and sent it to Mahon, who redirected it into the goal to give Longwood the 1-0 lead in the 62nd minute. The Rams answered in the 81st minute when CJ Gehin-Scott scored on a penalty kick to tie the match. Longwood's Michael Tegler | Stafford (North Stafford) earned his second yellow card of the match on the play leading up to the penalty kick, forcing the Lancers to play with 10 players for the final 30 minutes.

In the second overtime, the Longwood defense held firm, facing five VCU corner kicks and only allowing one shot.

Helmick had five saves in 110 minutes in goal, while Gabriel Rodriguez had two saves for the Rams. VCU outshot Longwood 16-7 and had an 8-4 advantage in corner kicks. Headley and Surkamp each attempted a team-high two shots for Longwood, while Gehin-Scott had a game-high four shots for VCU.