CLINTON, S.C. – Presbyterian took advantage of a first half penalty and held on for a 2-0 win over the Longwood men's soccer team Saturday afternoon at Martin Stadium.
The loss for the Lancers (4-10-1, 2-3-1 Big South) brings a two-match points streak to an end while the reigning Big South Tournament champion Blue Hose (4-10-0, 4-2-0 Big South) moves into a second-place tie with Radford after securing wins in four of their past six games.
"Today will go down as a poor result, however, it wasn't a poor performance," said Longwood head coach
Jon Atkinson. "We can take positives that we played well for good periods and worked cohesively to ensure Presbyterian didn't find a rhythm."
The Blue Hose took advantage of a 16th minute penalty in which Adrian Edo Martin converted, while Longwood's
Josh Hanratty's penalty attempt in the 58th minute banged off the post of Presbyterian goalkeeper Jan Hoffelner.
"The game swung on two penalty kicks of which they converted and we, unfortunately, didn't – that was the game, quite simply," Atkinson said.
"I thought that if the goal had come, we could've kicked on for the result, as we had quite a few good moments in the second half."
Marcos Kitromilides added a late insurance goal in the 84th minute, finishing a cross sent in from Jordan Barbara.
Hoffelner made two saves on eight Longwood shots to preserve the clean sheet while
Jacob Reimers made six saves on 18 shots faced. The six-save effort from Reimers marked his second performance of the season with five or more stops.
Marcus Gronli had both of Longwood's shots on target, as he was one of six newcomers to earn a start in Saturday's game with five freshmen entering the starting lineup.
"We need to convert and be cleaner in the final third," Atkinson said. "We had some great looks but not enough and we needed more quality today when it mattered."
Longwood will play its second straight on the road, as the Lancers will travel to Commonwealth foe James Madison Tuesday, Oct. 23. The opening kickoff for Longwood's final nonconference game of the season is set for 7 p.m.
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