Big South Weekly Report (PDF)
FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University won its first two
Big South Conference matches of the season this past week, taking a 2-1 overtime home victory against Presbyterian College on September 22, following a 4-0 home shutout against UNC Asheville on Sept. 20. The Lancers improved to 7-3 overall, 2-0 in the Big South, and have already matched their win total from last season and have equaled their finest start since 2002 (7-2-1). Longwood will play two more conference contests on the road this week at
Charleston Southern University on Thursday, Sept. 27, in Charleston, South Carolina at 3 p.m., and at
Coastal Carolina University on Saturday, Sept. 29, in Conway, South Carolina at 1 p.m.
Recapping UNC Asheville
Longwood jumped out to the early advantage when senior captain
Lindsey Ottavio|Fairfax (W.T. Woodson) got free down the right side of the field and played a nice ball into the box to junior
Kelsey Pardue|Henrico (Hermitage), who finished with her hard shot into the net at 3:19. Pardue returned the favor when she fed the ball in from the left side to freshman
Alana Mackey|Leesburg (Loudoun County), who beat the keeper left at 11:43. Pardue added another assist as she played a through-ball to sophomore
Kelsey McDonald|Kennett Square, Pa. (Unionville), who shot successfully to the right corner at 18:07. Pardue completed the scoring outburst when she got free down the middle of the field and beat the keeper one-on-one at 21:00. It capped an amazing effort by Pardue, who was involved in all four goals (two goals, two assists). McDonald scored her first goal this season, and Mackey earned her first collegiate goal. Senior keeper
Kyra Byron|Richmond (Mills E. Godwin) played the first 45 minutes with three saves, junior keeper
Shelby Hall|Purcellville (Loudoun Valley) played the first 32:44 of the second half with three saves, and redshirt-sophomore
Dana Wallace|Charlottesville (Home Schooled) played the final 12:16 as the three combined for the Lancers' shutout. It was the first collegiate action in front of the net for Wallace. Longwood and UNC Asheville were playing for just the third time in the sport of women's soccer, and the Lancers now lead the series, 3-0.
Quoting Head Coach Todd Dyer
“That was our first Big South game ever and we used all of that energy and excitement to get things started off the right way. Kelsey Pardue was special tonight and was a real catalyst for us offensively. The defensive shutout was equally impressive for our team.”
Recapping PC
Longwood and Presbyterian were scoreless at the intermission before sophomore
Kylie Dyer|Farmville (Prince Edward County), the daughter of the head coach, received a nice ball inside the box from
Lindsey Ottavio and promptly finished to the left corner of the net at 50:46 for the 1-0 advantage. It was Dyer's second goal this season, and the third assist for Ottavio. The Blue Hose, however, battled back and were able to tie it at 1-1 on a goal at 65:57. The Lancers nearly won it at the end of regulation, but missed an opportunity from point-blank range in the 89th minute.
Kelsey Pardue finally tallied the game-winner at 94:59 when she dribbled up the middle through traffic and shot successfully to the right upper 90 to give Coach Dyer his 200th coaching win. It was Pardue's fourth goal this fall, including her third game-winning goal.
Kyra Byron played the duration in front of the net with three saves for the Lancers. Longwood and Presbyterian were playing for the fourth time in the sport of women's soccer, and the Blue Hose still lead the series, 2-1-1.
Quoting Head Coach Todd Dyer
“Throughout the course of a season, you're going to face moments of adversity. This was one of those moments and we responded in a positive way by gutting out a result against a very organized and resilient Presbyterian squad. We have to be better as we move forward and now we have a good idea of what we have to work on in training this week.”
Coaching Milestone: 200 Career Wins
Todd Dyer, enjoying his 19th year as the founder and head coach of the Longwood women's soccer program, now has an overall record of 200-122-20, including 14 winning seasons. A former standout midfielder at Longwood, he served as a team captain for two years and scored 15 goals during his four years, earning All-Virginia Intercollegiate Soccer Association (VISA) honors as a senior. A native of Manassas, Dyer earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education from Longwood in 1993. He also coached the Longwood men's soccer program for seven years (1996-2002), compiling a record of 75-53-7.
Quoting Head Coach Todd Dyer
“200 is a nice milestone and what it really reflects is that I've been fortunate to do what I love, at a place I love, for a long, long time. I'm blessed to have had the privilege of working with so many great people these past 19 years. Our program's future is very bright due to all of their hard work.”
Big South … Here We Are
Longwood has completed the non-league portion of its schedule and will play only Big South matches the rest of the season. The Lancers will play 11-straight Big South contests from Sept. 20 to October 23. The Big South Conference Tournament will include the top eight teams playing quarterfinal matches at the four highest seeds on Oct. 27, followed by semifinal matches on November 2 and the tournament championship contest on Nov. 4, hosted by Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Leading The Lancers | Statistics
Kelsey Pardue leads Longwood in scoring through 10 matches with her four goals and three assists totaling 11 points.
Lindsey Ottavio adds two goals and three assists for seven points.
Kylie Dyer and sophomore
Samantha Phillips|Chesapeake (Grassfield) each add two goals and four points,
Kelsey McDonald has one goal and one assist for three points, while senior
Nikki Glisson|Mechanicsville (Hanover) along with
Alana Mackey and classmates
Bridget Bergquist|Bristow (Brentsville) and
Haylea Witz|Chesapeake (Grassfield) each add one goal for two points apiece. Sophomore
Taylor Cave|Virginia Beach (Kellam) and freshman
Olivia Colella|Herndon (Chantilly) have each contributed one assist for the Lancers totaling one point.
Kyra Byron has played 781 minutes in front of the net while allowing nine goals (1.04) with 37 saves (.804) on 93 shots with 3.33 shutouts.
Shelby Hall has played 123 minutes in front of the net while allowing three goals (2.20) with nine saves (.750) on 16 shots with 0.33 shutouts.
Dana Wallace has played 12 minutes in front of the net while facing one shot with 0.33 shutouts.
NCAA/Big South Statistics
Longwood ranked 53rd in
Division I winning percentage (.700) through Sept. 23, and 83rd in shutout percentage (0.400).
Kelsey Pardue ranked 24th in game-winning goals (3).
Kyra Byron ranked 101st in save percentage (.804) and 104th in goals-against average (1.037). In
Big South matches (2), the Lancers are first in home attendance (432) and goals-against-average (0.49), tied for first in shutouts (1-0.5) and goals allowed (1-0.5), tied for second in assists (4-2.0), while fourth in goals (6-3.0) and points (16-8.0).
Kelsey Pardue ranks first in goals (3-1.5), game-winning goals (2) and points (8-4.0), and is tied for first in assists (2-1.0).
Lindsey Ottavio is also tied for first in assists (2-1.0).
Kyra Byron ranks second in goals-against average (0.64) and is tied for second in save percentage (.857).
Kylie Dyer,
Kelsey McDonald and
Alana Mackey are each tied for eighth in goals (1-0.5).
In The Record Book
Kyra Byron ranks second in career goals against average (0.86), and fifth in minutes (3344) among keepers at Longwood, allowing just 32 goals.
Lindsey Ottavio ranks in a tie for third in career goals (24), and is tied for fifth in career points (58).
Big South Conference/Attacking Player Of The Week
Kelsey Pardue was named the Big South Conference
Attacking Player Of The Week Sept. 25 for her efforts during the 4-0 home win against UNC Asheville on Sept. 20 and the 2-1 overtime home win against Presbyterian on Sept. 22. She is Longwood's third Big South Player of the Week (see below). Pardue scored three goals -- two game-winners -- and added two assists to lead Longwood to a pair of Big South wins. She was involved in all four scores against UNC Asheville, scoring the first and game-winning goal in the fourth minute with a hard shot into the net after a feed into the box. Pardue returned the favor when she fed the ball in from the left side on the game's second goal in the 12th minute, and added another assist as she played a through-ball in for a successful shot in the 19th minute. She completed the scoring outburst when she got free down the middle of the field and beat the keeper one-on-one in the 21st minute. Pardue capped her outstanding week with the game-winning goal in OT against Presbyterian. She tallied the game-winner in the 105th minute when she dribbled up the middle through traffic and shot successfully to the right upper 90. The talented third-year starter now totals 13 goals and 16 assists for 42 points in her career. Pardue was also named the College Sports Madness Big South Player of the Week.
Big South Conference Defensive Player Of The Week
Kyra Byron was named the Big South Conference
Defensive Player Of The Week Sept. 11 for her effort during a 1-0 shutout road victory at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County on Sept. 9. She is Longwood's second Big South Player of the Week. Byron posted six saves for the Lancers against the Retrievers with five of her saves in the second half, including four after Longwood had taken a one-goal advantage. It was the third shutout in six matches this season for Byron, the fourth-year team member who now totals 10 shutouts in her career to rank sixth all-time.
Big South Conference/Attacking Player Of The Week
Lindsey Ottavio was named the Big South Conference
Attacking Player Of The Week August 28 for her effort during the 2-1 double-overtime home win past Richmond on August 24. She is Longwood's first Big South Player of the Week since the school joined the conference on July 1. Ottavio scored two unassisted goals, including the game-winner just 50-seconds into the second extra period to lead the Lancers (3-1) past the Spiders. She scored her first goal in the 65th minute, taking the ball through the middle of the box while beating both a defender and the keeper with a shot to the left side of the net at 64:35. Ottavio finally ended the well-played match at 100:50 when she took a loose ball in the box and once again beat the keeper with a hard shot to the left side for the sudden victory. The second-year team captain has eight game-winning goals in her career. Ottavio was also named the College Sports Madness Big South Player of the Week.
Big South Network
Longwood produced its first-ever
Big South Network live video-streamed broadcast against UNC Asheville Sept. 20. The Big South Network is the official video provider for all Big South Conference games. Each member institution is required to produce broadcasts for home events to be streamed via the conference network. The Lancers will stream three women's soccer matches this fall, including the matches against visiting Winthrop University (Oct. 4) and Virginia Military Institute (Oct. 20). The Big South Network has an archive of on-demand videos that can be viewed for free. A paid subscription is required to view live events, with both single-game and season passes available. You can view the
Longwood Lancers TV page to watch all of the Lancers' webcasts and see a schedule of upcoming events.
No Place Like Home
Longwood is now 45-15-2 (.758) on its home turf at the Athletics Complex since beginning competition at the facility in 2006. The Lancers, 5-1 at home this season, are 38-14-1 (.726) in Farmville since attaining its NCAA Division I certification and eligibility for 2007.
2012 Captains
Lindsey Ottavio is serving as a team captain for the second consecutive season, while senior
Natalie Massey|Virginia Beach (Landstown) is in the team leadership role for the first time.
Youth Being Served
Ten freshmen and/or sophomores have made starts through the opening 10 matches. The Lancers have nine true sophomores and 10 true freshmen among their 28-player roster, and overall, 18 of them have seen action this season.
The Coaching Staff
Head coach
Todd Dyer '93 is in his 19th year leading Longwood and is assisted by associate head coach Steve Brdarski, in his ninth season, along with student assistant
Rachel Powers '14. Coach Dyer enters this week with a career coaching record of 200-122-20.
Up Next Week
Longwood returns home to the Athletics Complex in Farmville to host
Winthrop University on Thursday, Oct. 4, at 5:30 p.m. (please note new starting time), before hosting
Gardner-Webb University on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 4 p.m.
