October 15, 2011

Box Score

DAVIDSON, N.C. - The Longwood University men's soccer team defeated Davidson College of the Southern Conference (SoCon) 2-0 on Saturday evening in Davidson, North Carolina. Freshman Zach Crandall|Lorton (South County) scored the match-winner in the 13th minute and sophomore Nick Surkamp|Manassas (Osbourn Park) added a second-half goal, while senior Joel Helmick|Springfield (W.T. Woodson) recorded his fourth shutout of the season for the Lancers (7-6-1) against the Wildcats (5-6-2). Longwood returns to action on Wednesday, October 19, when it faces S0Con member UNC Greensboro at 7 p.m. in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Longwood jumped out to the early 1-0 lead when Crandall worked his way through the defense before ripping a shot from the center of the box at 12:45. The Lancers controlled play for much of the first half, outshooting the hosts 7-3 with a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Both teams attempted five shots and one corner kick in the second half. Longwood scored the only goal of the period at 89:45 when Surkamp took a long pass, then bounced the ball off of a defender and ripped a shot from 16 yards to give the Lancers the 2-0 lead.

“I thought this was a thoroughly workman-like performance which led to a great result,” said head coach Jon Atkinson. “I was impressed with how Davidson played and battled, but overall, I think we deserved it over the 90 minutes. It is not easy to win on the road, and this result will help build the belief, and help erase the disappointment, of last weekend. We don't have long to enjoy this victory before locking horns with a very capable UNC Greensboro outfit, but on the same token, I'm excited to see how far this young team can go."

Longwood outshot Davidson 12-8, including 8-2 in shots on goal, and had an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks. Crandall attempted a match-high five shots, while Helmick made one save in the shutout victory. The Wildcats were paced by Alex Givens with two shots, while Chip Sanders made five saves while playing the duration in goal.