September 1, 2009

Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. - Longwood University fell at Old Dominion University 2-0 in men's soccer Tuesday night in Norfolk.  Sophomore Joel Helmick/Springfield (W.T. Woodson) recorded eight saves for the Lancers (0-1) during their season-opener against the Monarchs of the Colonial Athletic Association.  Longwood returns to action against Radford University of the Big South Conference on Tuesday, September 8, at 7 p.m. at the Athletics Complex in Farmville.

The two teams played to a 0-0 draw in the first half with both sides having opportunities to score. Longwood junior Harvey Headley/Coventry, England (Stoke Park) and senior Brian Germain/Mclean (Langley) each launched shots in a four-minute period in the first half but ODU goalkeeper Evan Newton made a pair of saves. Helmick was tested by a pair of ODU shots with less than five minutes to go in the first half but recorded two saves. The Monarchs out-shot Longwood 7-3 in the first half and each goalkeeper had two saves.

Longwood's best scoring opportunity occurred in the 56th minute when Kevin Chico/Harrisonburg (Eastern Mennonit) had an open shot from 18 yards out but Newton came up with the save. ODU had several chances to score early in the second half but Longwood held firm until Bobby Foglesong found the net in the 74th minute. The Monarchs would add another goal in the 86th minute to make the final score 2-0.

"I thought we were pretty evenly matched through the first 70 minutes of the match," said Longwood head coach Jon Atkinson. "We had better chances in the first half. Whoever scored first was going to win the match. After they scored, we went for it and took chances and left a hole in the back line and they added an insurance goal. We are a young team and we can learn from this as we prepare for Radford."

Old Dominion finished with an 18-5 advantage in shots and a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.