October 28, 2011

Box Score

FARMVILLE, Va. - The Longwood University men's soccer team defeated Atlantic Soccer Conference (ASC) opponent Houston Baptist University 2-1 Friday on a cold and rainy Senior Night at the Athletics Complex in Farmville. Freshman Zach Crandall|Lorton (South County) scored in the 37th minute, and sophomore Nick Surkamp|Manassas (Osbourn Park) added a penalty kick goal in the 42nd minute for the Lancers (11-6-1, 2-2 ASC) against the Huskies (2-10-2, 1-2 ASC). The program has reached 11 wins for the first time since 2002, and posted the best record since that season when it went 12-6-1. Longwood is off until the ASC Tournament, hosted by Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, on November 10-13.

The match started slowly, with most of the play in the middle of the field, before Longwood went on the attack. The ball went into the deep left corner, before senior Zack Mahon|San Antonio, Texas (William Howard Taft) worked the ball out and flicked it across the box to Crandall, who ripped a shot off of the far post that bounced off the goalkeeper and into the goal to give the Lancers the 1-0 lead at 36:17. Surkamp added to the lead at 41:51 when he was taken down at the top of the box by the goalkeeper on a breakaway. He converted the subsequent penalty kick to give Longwood the 2-0 lead. The Lancers held HBU shotless for the first 67 minutes of the match. The Huskies' Marcos Escobar scored on a breakaway goal at 80:56 to cut the Longwood lead to 2-1. HBU only attempted one more shot the remainder of the match as Longwood won 2-1.

“Above everything else, the result was the essential ingredient,” said head coach Jon Atkinson. “I'm delighted to get it for conference standings, as well as to honor the seniors in the best possible send-off. The game was representative of the weather on the night, a bit dreary and cold, and once again we had to figure out how to break down a stubborn, well-organized team. We could, and should, have made it easier on ourselves, and will have to improve come conference tournament time. Tonight we can feel good about our season accomplishments. I want to thank our seniors and parents from the bottom of my heart.”

Longwood outshot Houston Baptist 12-5, including 7-1 in shots on goal, with a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks. Crandall attempted a match-high six shots, with five shots on goal, while senior Chris Saul|Pasadena, Md. (Chesapeake) and Surkamp attempted two shots each. Senior Joel Helmick|Springfield (W.T. Woodson) played all 90 minutes in goal. HBU was led by Escobar with two shots, while Kevin Suarez recorded five saves while playing the duration in goal.

Longwood recognized four seniors in a pre-match ceremony. Honored for their contributions to the program were Joel Helmick, Shane Johnson|Ashburn (Broad Run), Zack Mahon and Chris Saul.