September 22, 2007
BOX SCORE
FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University took a 1-0 women’s soccer home victory past visiting United Soccer Conference (USC) opponent NJIT Saturday afternoon at the Athletics Complex in Farmville. Freshman Alex Myers/Stafford (Colonial Forge) tallied her first collegiate goal at 71:32 for the difference in the program’s first conference match of the season. The Lancers improved to 2-4 overall, 1-0 in the USC, while NJIT dropped to 0-6, 0-1 in the USC. Longwood will play again Friday night, September 28, hosting another league contest as Utah Valley State visits the Athletics Complex in Farmville beginning at 7 p.m..
“It was a hard-fought victory; New Jersey Tech was a stubborn opponent,” said 14th-year head coach Todd Dyer. “We created a lot of chances in this game, even on tired legs, though we would like to see a few more go in. Defensively, we were organized real well and at the end of the day I am glad to see the ladies get a result that they deserve. They’ve put in a lot of hard work, battled some injuries and adversity, and glad to see it rewarded.”
Longwood and NJIT battled closely throughout the conference game and went into the intermission tied at 0-0. The Lancers had several early scoring opportunities, including an unlucky shot attempt taken by freshman Kayla Huggins/North Haven, Conn. (North Haven) that bounced off the crossbar. The Highlanders’ keeper, Sadie Mele, made five saves during the opening 45 minutes, while LU redshirt-freshman keeper Marcia Biddle/ Woodbridge (Gar-Field) made two stops during the scoreless first half.
The second half was much the same before Myers, a first-year forward, received a nice through-ball pass from classmate Joanna Montefinese/Howell, N.J. (Howell) on a breakaway and successfully beat the keeper for the game-winning goal. Mele, a two-time USC Goalie of the Week already this fall, made three more saves during the second half to keep NJIT close. Biddle, though, was the one to earn her first collegiate shutout while making just her second collegiate start for the Lancers, stopping two more shots during the final 45 minutes.
Longwood took a 14-6 advantage in shots, ironically at 7-3 in each half, while NJIT had a 6-4 edge in corner kicks. Huggins led the LU attack with four shots, including two on-goal, while Myers had three shots, two on-goal. Biddle finished with four saves for the Lancers, while Mele had eight saves for the Highlanders.
