FARMVILLE, Va. – On a field that covers approximately 64,000 square feet, sometimes it's the inches that define the outcome.
 
Longwood (2-4-2, 0-0-1 Big South) experienced that the downside of that Wednesday night when UNC Asheville goalkeeper Courtney O'Malley tipped Emily Mothersbaugh's desperation shot in the final minute of the second overtime period into the crossbar, sealing a hard-fought 2-2 draw between the teams in the Big South opener.
 
That game-saving stop was the 11th of the game for O'Malley, who held off a rapid-fire onslaught from a Lancer team that outshot UNC Asheville 22-4 on the night and put 13 of those shots on goal. The last of those was inches away from becoming a buzzer-beating golden goal for Mothersbaugh, who drilled a long-range shot from 20-plus yards out with 53 seconds remaining, only to watch O'Malley get enough of a touch on it to redirect it into the crossbar and corral it after it bounced straight down in front of the Bulldog goal.
 
"To say that was a frustrating game is an understatement," said Longwood head coach Todd Dyer. "We had plenty of possession and chances to win the game and just didn't capitalize. Defensively we sabotaged ourselves a couple times, and Asheville took full advantage of those opportunities. We will digest this and try to be a more complete team next time out."
 
Longwood was on track to dominate the game through the first 38 minutes, jumping out to a 2-0 lead on the strength of an unassisted goal from Emilie Kupsov in the 10th minute and a follow-up score from Mothersbaugh in the 33rd minute. The Lancers held UNC Asheville (1-3-3, 0-0-1 Big South) without a shot for the first 36 minutes of that flurry, controlling possession and feeding off the momentum of Kupsov's line drive strike from 22 yards out.
 
However, the momentum flipped shortly after Mothersbaugh's goal when a penalty in the box gifted UNC Asheville a free attempt on Longwood's net. Kyra Kandel took the penalty shot and beat Lancer goalkeeper Madison Van Dyke to her right, which cut Longwood's 2-0 lead to one goal heading into halftime.
 
UNC Asheville carried that energy out of the locker room after halftime and withstood six more Longwood shots – two of which O'Malley saved – before taking advantage of a defensive breakdown by the Lancers and tying the game on the equalizer from Gillian Oyos.
 
O'Malley stood strong the rest of the way, saving three more shots and withstanding six more Longwood corner kicks to take the game into overtime.
 
The Bulldog defense returned the favor to their keeper in the two 10-minute overtime periods, holding Longwood to just two shots in the final 10 minutes. O'Malley saved both, catching a long-range try by Sheyenne Stretz in the 105th minute and deflecting Mothersbaugh's final attempt with 53 seconds on the clock.
 
The draw comes in the Big South opener for the Lancers, who will head to conference Charleston Southern this Saturday, Sept. 22, for an 11 a.m. kickoff in the first of back-to-back road games. Longwood follows with a trip to Radford the following Wednesday before returning to the Longwood Athletics Complex to host Presbyterian on Sept. 29 and Hampton on Oct. 3.
 
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