BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Sacrifice for each other to prove a point.
On Saturday night at Greene-Harbison Field, that message was received loud and clear. Longwood lifted the Big South Men's Soccer Championship trophy for the first time thanks to a 2-1 double overtime victory over Gardner-Webb. As a result, the Lancers will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
"Today's message was all about standing in the gap for each other," head coach
Paul Gilbert said. "It was about who's willing to sacrifice, who's willing to be the one to essentially give up themselves for the greater good of the group. We certainly did that, and we had a couple of heroes who sacrificed for us tonight."
Junior
Brando Bedolla, who was named the MVP of the Big South Championship, started the list of heroes, putting the Lancers (11-7-1) in front with his 10th goal in the 35th minute. Of the nine goals Longwood scored in the Big South Tournament, Bedolla factored in eight of them with two goals and six assists.
"When he was a freshman, our staff secretly had incredibly high hopes for him because we saw glimpses," Gilbert said of Bedolla. "He has matured into a leader. He's matured into a guy who is one of the most unselfish footballers I've ever seen. Football is one thing, but man, I'm so proud of who he's become."
After the host Runnin' Bulldog (10-5-2) tied the game just over a minute into the second half on Kyle Hofmann's rebound goal, graduate student
Nicolas Pucci sacrificed his body to the tune of a program Division I record 14 saves, including nine in the second half. None bigger than the back-to-back stops in the 82nd minute, including pushing a Nicolas Triguero header wide with a diving stab to his left. Over the final two matches of the Big South Championship, Pucci made eight saves at No. 1 High Point to go with his career-high total on Saturday.
The game looked destined for penalty kicks after Gardner-Webb denied the Lancers twice in the 106th minute. Runnin' Bulldogs goalkeeper Oliver Weng blocked a
Vicent Martinez shot at the near post, and the Gardner-Webb defense cleared the rebound header from
Ezrah Serralde off the line and over the goal for a Longwood corner kick.
After junior
Joshwa Campbell collected the cleared corner kick in the midfield, the sacrifice finally paid off and legends were born. Campbell laid off to Serralde down the left wing toward the endline, and the senior midfielder sent service into the middle of the penalty area. Senior
Mamadou Seck laid out for a scissor-kick half volley that bounced over Weng into the goal, igniting a Blue and White celebration.
"We just needed to prove something," Gilbert said. "We had a lot to prove to ourselves, too, because we started the year so, so well. Then we hit a ton of adversity. It was really a tough road for us, but we knew that if we hung together, we would have a chance. I'm just beyond blessed and thankful that we have a group of people who have bought into each other. I mean, that's really all it's about. It's about togetherness and a relentless thirst for excellence. I'm just so proud of this group."
After dropping its regular-season finale in heartbreaking fashion allowing the game-winner in the final minute, Longwood faced the hardest possible path to a Big South Championship. The Lancers passed each test with flying colors, winning three-straight road games after the league's No. 4, No. 1, and No. 2 seeds, respectively. Longwood's eight road wins this season are the most in the country, and they have won the last five straight on the road.
Martinez, who scored the game-winner in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Pucci, and Seck joined Bedolla on the Big South All-Championship Team.
The NCAA Selection Show is set for Monday, Nov. 16, at 1 p.m., and will be broadcast on NCAA.com. The NCAA First Round will be held at campus sites on Thursday, Nov. 19. Lancer fans are invited to join the team at the Selection Show Party to be held at North Street Press Club (127 North St.)
Scoring Summary
35' | Longwood –
Brando Bedolla (
Ezrah Serralde)
47' | Gardner-Webb - Kyle Hofmann (Tim Kreuzpeintner)
106' | Longwood -
Mamadou Seck (Serralde/
Joshwa Campbell)
