9.26.2011

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University played two women's soccer home matches this past weekend, taking a 2-1 win past South Carolina State University of the Great West Conference on September 25, following a 3-2 loss to Big South Conference member in Charleston Southern University on Sept. 23.  The Lancers (4-5-3) will enjoy a rare week off from competition, as there are no matches scheduled for this week, though an Alumni match will take place on Saturday, October 1, at the Athletics Complex in Farmville at 2 p.m.  Longwood will return to action on Friday, Oct. 7, welcoming North Carolina State University of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) to the Athletics Complex in Farmville at 7 p.m.  It will be Longwood Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night for the contest against the Wolfpack who will be making their first visit to Farmville.

Recapping Charleston Southern, South Carolina State
CSU took an early 1-0 advantage just over a minute into the match, and the Lady Bucs added another goal late in the first half for a 2-0 lead at the intermission.  Longwood seemed to play with more urgency to start the second half, taking nine unanswered shots within a span of 11:20 early in the period, including its first goal in the 56th minute by senior captain Kacie Oliver|Portsmouth, R.I. (Portsmouth) who had gained a rebound in front of the net and slipped it into the left side.  CSU scored the eventual game-winner at 84:52 on a hard shot that deflected off a defender.  The Lancers, however, made it interesting with a late goal in the 88th minute when junior Nikki Glisson|Mechanicsville (Hanover) took a nice pass from senior Mackenzie King|Stafford (North Stafford) and one-touched the ball over the keeper's head into the net.  Junior keeper Kyra Byron|Richmond (Mills E. Godwin) played the first half (45:00) in front of the net with two saves, and sophomore Shelby Hall|Purcellville (Loudoun Valley) played the second half (45:00) in goal with one save.

Sophomore Kelsey Pardue|Henrico (Hermitage) and junior captain Lindsey Ottavio|Fairfax (W.T. Woodson) each scored first-half goals against SCSU and they stood for the home triumph.  Pardue took a nice serve in the box from freshman Kelsey McDonald|Kennett Square, Pa. (Unionville) and shot successfully to the lower right corner of the net in the ninth minute.  Ottavio controlled a pass in the box from Glisson and beat the keeper with her hard shot to the lower left corner in the 14th minute that made for a 2-0 lead at the break and proved to be the eventual game-winner.  The Lady Bulldogs made it interesting with an early goal in the second half at 54:53, but Longwood continued to dominate play in the second half toward the win.  Hall started her first collegiate match at goalkeeper and played the duration for the Lancers with two saves.

Head Coach Todd Dyer
“Looking back on our last two games it's encouraging that we're starting to score goals, especially on our home field.  On Friday we had some mental lapses and a lack of urgency early in our defensive end that made it difficult on us, so we'll look to clean that up at practice this week.  On Sunday we had a strong first half in terms of possession and scoring some goals.  At halftime we talked about building on that and being even stronger in the second half, but it didn't quite work out that way.  Again, we were effective in keeping the ball and breaking down the defense, but we couldn't quite figure out the final pass and finishing touch in front of goal.

“We'll continue to work on that as well because one thing is certain as we look ahead … we'll have to put a complete game together, on both sides of the ball, and for 90 minutes, if we're going to get something out of our game against North Carolina State.  On that note, we're very excited to be hosting an ACC opponent because that is currently the strongest and deepest league in the entire nation right now, and we look forward to seeing how we match up.  We invite, and encourage, all of 'Lancer Nation' to come out and support our women's soccer program on that very special night.”

Alumni Match This Saturday
Longwood will welcome all former women's soccer team members back to campus for an Alumni match on Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Athletics Complex in Farmville at 2 p.m. It will take place during the University's annual Oktoberfest celebration.

A Quick Look At North Carolina State
North Carolina State is coached by third-year head coach Steve Springthorpe, and is currently 8-3-1 overall, and 0-2-1 in the ACC after a scoreless draw at #9 Maryland on Sept. 25.  Freshman Stephanie Bronson has led the Wolfpack with six goals and two assists.  Longwood and N.C. State are meeting for the first time.

Leading The Lancers | Season Statistics
Kelsey Pardue leads Longwood with her three goals and three assists through 12 matches, followed by Kacie Oliver with four goals, and Nikki Glisson with three goals and two assists.  Lindsey Ottavio has one goal and two assists, Kelsey McDonald has one goal and one assist, fifth-year senior Alex Myers|Stafford (Colonial Forge) has one goal, and Mackenzie King adds one assist.  Kyra Byron has played 1003:58 in front of the net while allowing 11 goals (0.99) with 38 saves (.776) and three shutouts, while Shelby Hall has played 172:50 in goal while yielding two goals (1.04) with four saves (.667).

On The Board
Lindsey Ottavio scored her first goal of the season against South Carolina State on Sept. 25. She had scored 16 goals a year ago, and now has 20 goals in her career to rank fifth all-time.

First Collegiate Start
Shelby Hall started her first collegiate match at goalkeeper against South Carolina State Sept. 25, and played the duration for the Lancers with two saves.  She has now seen action in three matches this fall while facing 18 shots, though only six have been on target; Hall has stopped four while the two goals were via a deflection and a header from a corner.

Two-Thirds Through The Season
Longwood is now well past the halfway point of its 2011 campaign, having played 12 of the 18 matches on the schedule.  The Lancers have only six matches remaining to be played between Oct. 7-30, including four home contests at the Athletics Complex.

No Place Like Home
Longwood is 38-13-1 (.740), including 3-3 this season, on its home turf at the Athletics Complex since beginning competition at the facility in 2006.  The Lancers finished 8-2 at home last season, and are 31-12 (.721) at the Athletics Complex since attaining its NCAA Division I certification and eligibility for 2007.

Here We Go Again …
Longwood has played six overtime contests this year, totaling 11 extra 10-minute periods.  Unfortunately, the OT matches have not been kind to the Lancers who have only won one of the beyond-regulation matches (Tennessee Tech).  Longwood has tied three (Richmond, Liberty, George Mason), and lost two (East Tennessee State, Appalachian State) of the OT contests.  Ironically, the Lancers did not play one overtime match during all of last season (19 matches) when the program finished 11-8.  Longwood has played 1176-plus minutes for an average of 98-plus minutes per match – equivalent to a full additional match-plus.

Season & Career-Ending Injury
Unfortunately, fifth-year senior defender and second-year team captain Katie Devlin|Fairfax (W.T. Woodson) will miss the remainder of the season following a (right) knee injury suffered at George Mason Sept. 11.  This is the second time during her career that such an injury has happened to her.  Devlin injured her other (left) knee early during her sophomore (2008) campaign and missed the remainder of that year before receiving a medical hardship waiver that allowed this fifth year with the program.

The Coaching Staff
Eighteenth-year head coach Todd Dyer '93 leads Longwood and is assisted by associate head coach Steve Brdarski, in his eighth season, along with director of soccer operations Lindsey Williams and graduate assistant Marcia Biddle '10.  Dyer is the only coach in the program's history as he has attained an overall coaching record of 190-117-19 (.612) over 17-plus years, including 14 winning seasons.

2011 Captains
Katie Devlin is serving as a team captain for the second consecutive season, while senior defender/midfielder Kacie Oliver and junior forward Lindsey Ottavio are in the team leadership roles for the first time.

Up Next
As mentioned, due to a week-plus off, Longwood will host ACC member North Carolina State University on Oct. 7 at the Athletics Complex in Farmville at 7 p.m.  It will be Longwood Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night.