November 11, 2010

Box Score

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - The Longwood University men's soccer team fell to Howard University 1-0 on Thursday afternoon in the Atlantic Soccer Conference (ASC) Tournament play-in match. The #5 seed Lancers outshot the #4 seed Bison (3-11-3) 9-6 in the match. Longwood ends the season with a 2-13-4 record and went 0-3-1 in conference play.

“It was a disappointing end to a challenging season,” said sixth-year head coach Jon Atkinson. “As with a lot of our games this season, we controlled large parts but couldn't break through. Belief goes a long way in this game and we are going to use the time wisely to build the belief and change the mindset of this young team in the offseason.

Longwood was aggressive early, launching a couple of shots that were stopped by Howard's Larry Turner. The Lancers fell behind in the 25th minute when Howard's Frederick Burgess sent a ball across the middle to a diving Mario Martin who hit a header that found the back of the net for the Bison. Senior Harvey Headley | Coventry, England (Stoke Park) had a header attempt stopped by Turner in the 30th minute that would have tied the match. Longwood outshot the Bison 4-2 in the first half and had four corner kicks.

In the second period, the Lancers went on the offensive early, but a shot by freshman Matt Carey | Manassas (Osbourn Park) was stopped in the 47th minute. The Lancers had three corner kicks in the first 15 minutes of the second period but could not get a shot off on any of the attempts. Junior Shane Johnson | Ashburn (Broad Run) had a header attempt saved by Turner in the 74th minute. The Lancers kept the Bison on their heels in the final two minutes, drawing three corner kicks and launching three shots, but could not find the goal.

Longwood outshot Howard 9-6 and had a 10-0 advantage in corner kicks. Junior Joel Helmick | Springfield (W.T. Woodson) made three saves for the Lancers while Turner came up with five saves for the Bison. Longwood was led offensively by Headley and Johnson with two shots each. Martin attempted two shots and scored one goal for the Bison.