October 30, 2007

LEXINGTON, Va.-- Longwood University men’s soccer defeated VMI 1-0 Tuesday afternoon in Lexington, Va.. The Lancers improve to 5-8-2 overall, while the Keydets fall to 5-8-3 on the season.  The Lancers will return to action on Saturday, November 3, when they host Radford in a 3 p.m. contest.
 

Longwood came out and held possession for most of the first half, keeping play on the Keydets side of the field.  Junior Marcus Dixon/Gloucester (Gloucester) headed a corner kick from sophomore Brian Germain/McLean (Langley) that caught the crossbar, keeping the game scoreless with 39:48 to go in the half.  The score would not remain that way for long, as the Lancers went up ten minutes later on a goal from senior Max Griessbach/Bethesda, Md. (Walt Whitman) with 29:34 left in the first half.  Sophomore Chernor Diallo/Alexandria (Mount Vernon) gave Griessbach a pass from the left side that the senior one timed in the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.  Longwood continued to dominant play in the closing ten minutes of the half, holding VMI to only three shots, two that went over the goal and one that hit the crossbar, keeping the Keydets off the board for the opening 45:00.
 

With the Lancers still up 1-0 and time running down on the Keydets, VMI put pressure on the Longwood defense with 15:00 remaining in the game.  The Lancers’ defense remained strong as the Keydets racked up three shots and two corner kicks in a ten minute span.  All three shots however never reached Longwood’s net keeping the score as 1-0 for the final.
 

Senior keeper Brandt Youmans/Gaithersburg, Md. (Damascus) saw all 90:00 of action  but had no saves in the contest while VMI’s Brian Sowell recorded six.  The Lancers out shot VMI 13-9 and held a 5-4 edge in corner kicks.
 

“We played some great football in the first half and created some great chances to add to our lead,” stated head coach Jon Atkinson.  “We had our share of chances in the second half and so did VMI, but our defense held them off to grab the win.  This game was a testment to how we play, and the overall maturing of the team.”