BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Rescued by a clutch game-tying goal from Kelly Almeida late in the second half, Longwood battled Gardner-Webb to a 1-1 draw Wednesday night to extend its unbeaten streak to eight games and secure the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Big South Championship.
 
Longwood (11-4-3, 6-1-2 Big South) entered the game tied for first place in in the Big South and in need of a win to lock up what would have been at least a share of program's first Big South Regular Season Championship. But an uncharacteristically low-scoring effort from one of the Big South's hottest offenses opened the window just enough to allow Gardner-Webb to eke out a 1-1 draw that dropped the Lancers into third place in the final standings.
 
"We didn't lose that one, but it sure feels that way," said Longwood head coach Todd Dyer who, despite the draw, secured Longwood's third top-three regular-season finish in six seasons as a member of the Big South. "We needed all three points today to accomplish our goal but could only manage to get one.
 
"In all honesty, it's fair because we weren't very good on the day. Give Gardner-Webb tons of credit because they were very direct, stronger in the air and simply outworked us for the majority of the game. We as a team will take full responsibility for our part and make sure we do all we can to have a better performance next Friday in the quarterfinals."
 
The draw allows league frontrunners High Point (10-7-1, 7-1-1 Big South) and Liberty (9-6-3, 7-1-1 Big South) to leapfrog the Lancers into a tie for the top spot in the Big South standings after both teams won their season finales Saturday afternoon. Those two teams will receive the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the upcoming Big South Championship Tournament, while Longwood will earn the No. 3 seed, tied with the 2012 and 2013 Longwood squads as the program's highest since Longwood joined the league.
 
As the No. 3 seed, Longwood earns hosting privileges for the quarterfinal round of the Big South Championship. The Lancers, currently riding a program Division I-record eight-game unbeaten streak, will face the conference's No. 6 seed in that opening-round matchup this Friday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. at the Longwood Athletic Complex.
 
However, that eight-game unbeaten streak, which Longwood began with a 2-0 win against Winthrop on Sept. 27, finally plateaued Saturday after Gardner-Webb neutralized Longwood's four-game win streak.
 
Gardner-Webb (4-11-2, 2-4-2 Big South) did what few have been able to do since Longwood began Big South play, holding the Lancers to just one goal in regulation. Longwood entered the game on a streak of three consecutive multi-goal games – including back-to-back three-goal efforts in wins against UNC Asheville and Liberty – but managed just one against Bulldogs keeper Keely Brown, who registered two of her four saves in overtime.
 
That low-scoring effort was the byproduct of a defensive-oriented first half in which Longwood and Gardner-Webb combined for just two shots during the entire 45 minutes. The scoreless half saw Longwood go without a single shot on goal, snapping a streak of five consecutive halves in which the Lancers had scored dating back to a two-goal second half in a 2-0 win against Radford on Oct. 11.
 
Both teams flipped that script on its head in the second half, however, as the offenses came alive on both ends of the field to combine for 15 shots in the second half. Gardner-Webb forward Jessica Ferguson was the first to break through, scoring a go-ahead strike at the 70:19 mark by finishing off the rebound from a shot that initiated with a corner kick.
 
That lead was short-lived, as Longwood with the equalizer from Almeida just 39 seconds later. Almeida, whose goal was her first of the season, scored by way of fellow junior Kathryn Miller, who notched her first assist of the year on the play.
 
From there, Longwood controlled possession through both overtime periods but could not take advantage of a 5-1 shot margin in extra time. Three of Longwood's five shots came from leading goal-scorer Emilie Kupsov, but Brown dispatched the two that were on target to lock up one of the last remaining spots in the Big South Championship field for the seventh-place Bulldogs.
 
Longwood could potentially get another crack at Gardner-Webb in Friday's quarterfinal, as the Bulldogs currently sit in seventh place and could climb to as high as sixth with a win or draw in their regular-season finale against UNC Asheville this Tuesday, Oct. 23. As the No. 3 seed, Longwood's quarterfinal matchup will be against the league's No. 6 seed, which is currently Charleston Southern (5-10-2, 3-5-1 Big South).
 
Longwood's Big South quarterfinal will kick off at 7 p.m. Friday. Admission will be charged for the event. With a win, Longwood would move on to the semifinals at Bryan Park in Greensboro, N.C., the following Friday, Nov. 3.
 
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