MATTHEWS, N.C. – Overtime wasn't enough. Nor was double overtime. Not even five penalties were enough.
Ultimately, a thrilling, even matchup between a young Longwood women's soccer side and the defending Big South champions in USC Upstate went to extra penalty kicks to determine who advanced to the Big South Championship on Sunday.
Unfortunately for the Lancers (9-7-3), Upstate (10-6-2) didn't miss on a single opportunity, outshooting Longwood 6-5 on penalties after the two sides had played to a 1-1 draw through regulation and double overtime.
"Heartache and tremendous pride sums up how we are all feeling right about now", said Head Coach Todd Dyer. "It's been a strong and memorable season for this group and we probably deserved a better ending. But that's soccer sometimes and putting it all on the line is all we can do. The team showed grit once again by coming back from a deficit and turning the game around. We gave ourselves several chances to win in regulation and OT but we literally just couldn't get the ball across the line."
Paige Armstrong, who scored the lone goal for the Spartans early in the match, put home the sixth penalty kick after both sides made the first five shots after goalkeeper Madison Ejgird batted aside Longwood's effort.
That capped a thrilling contest that saw the Lancers get better as the match went on. While Armstrong scored in the 15th minute for an early 1-0 lead for the No. 2 seeded Spartans, the Lancers responded.
While Longwood didn't equalize at the half, the team did outshoot USC Upstate 8-2 in the opening 45 minutes.
The aggression didn't stop for the rest of the contest, as Longwood—making its first appearance in the Big South semifinals since 2021—outshot USC Upstate 23-10 on the night.
The pressure paid off in the 60th minute when Madison Fitzpatrick found space in the box, cut back, and was taken down to give Longwood a penalty kick. Coryn Silberstein coolly slotted home her first penalty kick of the season to tie the match at one.
Longwood didn't let up after that, and the game-winner nearly went home multiple times from that point on. Taylor Hoag had a shot saved off the line in the 66th minute off a Lancer corner kick, and Fitzpatrick saw a chance go wide in the 86th minute. Schultz followed up with an opportunity less than 30 seconds later that was saved, and Fitzpatrick had a header glance off the post with less than a minute to play.
The story stayed the same in overtime. Sam Fischer saw a golden opportunity with less than two minutes to go in OT, but it was just wide.
In the second extra frame, again the Lancers had multiple chances, with Sydney Robertson ripping a header just wide on a corner kick.
Through the two overtime periods, Longwood outshot USC Upstate 5-2 and held one of the top scoring offenses in the Big South without a shot in the final 15 minutes of the combined overtime period. That set the stage for the penalty kicks that led to the heartpounding finish.
"This is tough, and it really hurts, but our program and culture are in a great place thanks to this team and this group of seniors," said Dyer. "When the dust settles we will get right back to work."
#GoWood #HorsePower
