FARMVILLE, Va. – A three-point night with a goal and an assist from sophomore forward Sammy Dupuy lifted the Longwood men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over UNC Asheville Saturday night at the Athletics Complex.

A product of Santiago, Chile, it took Dupuy 61 seconds to get Longwood on the scoresheet with his second of the season, redirecting a Sherif Maalouf cross in the box to hand the Lancers an early 1-0 advantage – the third time on the season that Longwood has scored the game's opening goal.

"[Sammy] is very good in the air," said Longwood head coach Jon Atkinson. "The first goal was a tremendous goal with good possession, built through the back and the midfield with a superb cross and finish. I'm happy for Sammy and hopefully we can build on this win."

Dupuy led the Lancers (1-13-1, 1-4-0 Big South) to their first win of the season to snap a 13-game losing skid. The win moves Longwood to within three points of the sixth position for a tournament berth. Meanwhile, UNC Asheville (1-14-0, 0-5-0 Big South) drops its eighth consecutive game.

"It's a relief for the boys," Atkinson said. "They've worked so hard. Obviously, the season hasn't gone the way we've wanted it to, but it's not been for a lack of effort. Tonight, we had a good team effort. We were able to score timely goals and, in all honesty, could've killed the game a lot earlier. "

After missing all of the 2016 season due to injury, Dupuy has scored a pair of goals and leads the Lancers with five points on the season.

"It felt good out there and I'm happy that we were able to come away with a win," Dupuy said. "Hopefully, this win helps the team get rolling and it can propel us back to the conference tournament."

Dupuy later added an assist in the 28th minute, as he chipped the ball to Connor Rea at the top of the 18-yard box, before a right-footed rocket from Rea gave the Lancers a 2-0 advantage. It marked the second goal of the season for Rea and his first career game-winning goal in his two seasons in a Lancer uniform.

Asheville was able to get a goal back in the 30th minute, as Brendan O'Dowd finished a cross from Ben Chapal from the right side of the box. The goal for O'Dowd marked his first of the season.

Dino Dziergas nearly equalized the score seven minutes later for the Bulldogs, as his shot snuck through the Longwood back line and hit the right post of Lance Da Silva.
The win for Da Silva marked the first of his collegiate career, as he made three saves in the effort. Nabil Milani made two saves for UNC Asheville.

Joshewa Frederick made his first career appearance and start for the Lancers, playing 70 minutes alongside Tom Devitt, Marten Pajunurm and Vaughn Fowler.

Longwood returns to the road for its next two games, as the Lancers are set for a midweek contest at Radford in a rematch of the 2016 Big South Championship game. That game is set for Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m., in Radford, Va., and precedes Longwood's final road game of the season at Gardner-Webb Oct. 28.

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