FARMVILLE, Va. –
Janese Quick is no physics major, but Saturday afternoon she gave Longwood's physics professors plenty of material for their next lecture.
Quick used the Magnus Effect to her full advantage on the game-winning goal, bending an untouched corner kick into the back of the net to give the Lancers (7-9-1, 4-3-1 Big South) all the cushion they needed to take down Big South foe Charleston Southern 1-0 at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
Quick's physics exposé came in the 47th minute as part of a dominant all-around effort from the Lancers, who outshot Charleston Southern 26-1 on the way to their fifth conference shutout of the year. The game-winning goal launched off Quick's foot, bent around the baseline and curved just inside the far post to give Longwood a crucial win as the Lancers make their final push to snatch a top-four spot in the Big South standings and home field advantage in the upcoming Big South Championship quarterfinals.
"I knew with the wind, I'd have to play it out a little bit further than usual and just hope for the best," Quick said of the goal, which was her fourth of the season. "I gave it my best shot. Everyone was on the goal line, so I was hoping somebody would get something on it. I guess they didn't need to."
While wind gusts that reached up to 10 miles per hour Saturday may have played a slight role in aiding Quick's goal, the long-range score is nothing new for the junior midfielder. Of her four goals this season, two have come on free kicks outside the box that both times she manipulated over player-walls and past the outstretched hands of goalkeepers more than 20 yards away.
"Somebody was yelling at me, saying 'Jayden, touch it!'," said Longwood defender
Jayden Metzger, who was lined up in the box on Quick's corner kick. "It looked like it was going in, so I didn't want to touch it."
The goal was the lone offensive highlight from an otherwise dominant day from the Lancers, who unleashed a 90-minute barrage on Charleston Southern goalkeeper Liz Amanda Brown. Longwood crushed double-digit shots in both halves and put nine of those on goal, finally breaking through against one of the Big South's top goalkeepers en route to moving to within one game of securing home field advantage in the Big South Championship's opening round.
Brown, who entered the matchup ranked second in the Big South with a 0.99 goals against average, put up an heroic effort in the midst of Longwood's immense pressure, dispatching eight of the nine shots she faced. Her lone blemish came on Quick's improbable corner kick, but it was enough to disrupt her for her fifth shutout of the season.
"First and foremost, give credit to Charleston Southern for coming in here and playing their third game in four days and making it a tight match," said Longwood head coach
Todd Dyer. "They were organized and patient defensively and very tough for us to break down. You can see that in the stats because we had a lot of the ball and tons of chances, but just couldn't find the net as much as we would've liked."
Longwood's attack came from all angles with 12 players sending in shots, including freshman
Emilie Kupsov who launched a career-high seven across 63 minutes of action. Quick also put all three of her shots on goal.
On the other end of the field, Longwood junior goalkeeper
Maria Kirby registered her sixth shutout of the season without recording a save. She benefited from the stonewall defense provided by 90-minute marathon efforts from the defensive quartet of Metzger,
Gina D'Orazio,
Sydney Wallace and
Jessica O'Bryant, who held Charleston Southern without a shot on goal for the duration. Those four helped Longwood keep Big South scoring leader Anna Sells in check, keeping the eight-goal scorer without a shot for the entire match.
The dominant performance took on even more significance for D'Orazio, Metzger and O'Bryant, who along with fellow senior forward
Christina Corbin and
Amanda Spencer were honored before the game for Senior Day. Those five have just one home game remaining in the regular season, hosting Presbyterian on Oct. 25, but hope to play at least once more at the Longwood Athletics Complex by securing home-field advantage in the Big South quarterfinals.
"Bottom line, we got the win we wanted on the senior day, the win we needed in terms of improving our seed for the tournament, and the win that we ultimately deserved on the day," Dyer said. "With that said, I hope our seniors know just how much we love and appreciate them for all of their hard work over the years, and today is a day they can enjoy and celebrate now."
To ensure those quarterfinal hosting duties, the Lancers will need to lock up one of the top four spots in the Big South standings, which will require a win in this Tuesday's season finale and a favorable tiebreak scenario against five-win teams High Point (5-1-1), Campbell (5-3) and Radford (5-3).
#GoWood
