FARMVILLE, Va. – In terms of rivalries, few in the Big South have been as competitive as that of the women's soccer series between Commonwealth foes Longwood and Radford.
 
Wednesday night's clash between the teams only added fuel to the fire.
 
In the continuation of one of the most balanced series in the Big South, two of the conference's perennial powerhouses went head to head for a physical, back-and-forth 90 minutes before the Lancers (4-5-1, 2-1-1 Big South) rode a game-winning goal from Madison Lockamy and a six-save shutout from goalkeeper Madison Van Dyke to a 1-0 victory over the reigning champion Highlanders.
 
The Longwood victory evened the series at 7-7-1 since the Lancers made the jump to the Division I level in 2004 and also marked Longwood's third straight home win over the Highlanders at the Athletics Complex.
 
"That was a typical Longwood/Radford game: Very competitive, combative, and always a little drama mixed in," said Longwood head coach Todd Dyer.
 
"We weathered the storm early when they had most of the ball and chances, but we gradually played our way into the game and had some good looks as well. Goals are so critical, and when we got that first one we were able to adjust defensively, sit in a little deeper and challenge them to break us down."
 
This year's meeting featured a red-hot Radford (8-3-0, 2-1-0) team that entered the matchup having won 11 consecutive games against Big South foes, including all three in last year's postseason tournament run to the Big South Championship. However, the Lancers snapped that streak thanks to the game-winning hookup between Lockamy and fellow junior Kennedy Culbreath in the 33rd minute and a shutdown performance from a Longwood backline that allowed just six shots on goal and dealt the Highlanders only their second shutout of the year.
 
For the Lancers, the shutout was their third straight – all in conference play – and came on the strength of 90-minute marathon performances from the veteran defensive trio of Taylor Alvey, Carrie Reaver and Erica Sieben. Those three let just six shots reach Van Dyke and disrupted all six of Radford's corner kicks.
 
"We definitely worked hard as a team together, and defensively, toward the end we all got back," said Sieben, who anchored the right side of Longwood's backfield unit. "We knew we just to get the ball up. We could definitely have kept the ball more, but overall it was a great team win."
 
Radford threw everything it had at the Lancers after halftime, unloading 13 shots after the break and mounting an end-game push that featured four shots and three corner kicks in the final 15 minutes. However, the Lancers survived that onslaught, along with a missed penalty kick in the 50th minute, to extend their shutout streak to 290 minutes.
  
"We dodged a bullet with that penalty kick miss, but we were also very strong defending their set pieces where they've been so prolific this year," Dyer said. "Any win against that program, especially a shutout, is hard earned, so we'll appreciate it for the next nine hours and then switch gears for Winthrop."
 
Meanwhile the shutout dropped Longwood's Big South-leading goals against average in conference play to 0.46. The Lancers' past three clean sheets have come under the watch of Van Dyke, who entered the game behind only Radford goalkeeper Courtenay Kaplan for the Big South lead in goals against average and save percentage.
 
"The last couple games we've played really well, we just didn't get the result. Today we finally scored, which is what we've been working on in practice. We're going to build off this, keep up our offensive third and get more shots on goal."​
 
Now back above .500 in Big South play, Longwood sits tied for third in the Big South standings behind first-place High Point (3-0-1) and second-place Presbyterian (3-1) and alongside Campbell (2-1-1). Longwood's next game takes place at sixth-place Winthrop this Saturday, Oct. 5, in Rock Hill, S.C.
 
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