10.3.2011

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University did not play any women's soccer matches this past week, and returns to action this weekend with two home matches.  The Lancers (4-5-3) welcome North Carolina State University of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) to the Athletics Complex in Farmville on Friday night, October 7, beginning at 7 p.m.  It will be Longwood Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night for the contest against the Wolfpack who will be making their first visit to Farmville while playing their fourth consecutive road contest.  Longwood remains at home against visiting NJIT of the Great West Conference on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 1 p.m.

A Quick Look At North Carolina State, NJIT
North Carolina State is coached by third-year head coach Steve Springthorpe, and is currently 8-4-2 overall, and 0-3-2 in the ACC following a 2-0 road loss at #10 Florida State on Oct. 2.  Freshman Stephanie Bronson has led the Wolfpack with six goals and two assists.  Senior keeper Kim Kern has played 1236:85 in goal for N.C. State, yielding 16 goals (1.12) with 72 saves (.818) and five shutouts.  Longwood and North Carolina State are meeting for the first time. 

NJIT is coached by first-year head coach Sergio Gonzalez, and is currently 1-9 overall following a 2-0 home loss to Saint Joseph's on September 25.  Freshman Megan Dellavalle has led the Highlanders with one goal and one assist.  NJIT is scheduled to open Great West action on Oct. 7 at home against Delaware State. Longwood has never lost to NJIT (3-0-1), including a 3-1 road win last season on Oct. 17.

Head Coach Todd Dyer
“After a hectic first half of the season with a lot of games and travel, it was nice for the team to have a weekend off to step back and refocus for the six games ahead of us to finish out the season.  It also gave us a chance to welcome back, and celebrate, our alumni as they returned to campus for Oktoberfest and our annual Alumni Game.

“Now we'll get back on the training ground today and pour ourselves into our preparation for North Carolina State as we host them this Friday.  On that note, we're very excited to play an ACC opponent on our home field, and we fully understand the level of mental and physical commitment we'll have to demonstrate for 90 minutes, or more if necessary.  We look forward to the challenge.”

Leading The Lancers | Season Statistics
Sophomore Kelsey Pardue|Henrico (Hermitage) leads Longwood with her three goals and three assists through 12 matches, followed by senior captain Kacie Oliver|Portsmouth, R.I. (Portsmouth) with four goals, and junior Nikki Glisson|Mechanicsville (Hanover) with three goals and two assists.  Junior captain Lindsey Ottavio|Fairfax (W.T. Woodson) has one goal and two assists, freshman Kelsey McDonald|Kennett Square, Pa. (Unionville) has one goal and one assist, fifth-year senior Alex Myers|Stafford (Colonial Forge) has one goal, and senior Mackenzie King|Stafford (North Stafford) adds one assist.  Junior keeper Kyra Byron|Richmond (Mills E. Godwin) has played 1003:58 in front of the net while allowing 11 goals (0.99) with 38 saves (.776) and three shutouts, while sophomore Shelby Hall|Purcellville (Loudoun Valley) has played 172:50 in goal while yielding two goals (1.04) with four saves (.667).

On The Board
Lindsey Ottavio scored her first goal of the season against South Carolina State on Sept. 25.  Hopefully, the goal will lead to a strong October for her as she had scored 16 goals a year ago.  Ottavio now has 20 goals in her career to rank fifth all-time.

First Collegiate Start
Shelby Hall started her first collegiate match at goalkeeper against South Carolina State, and played the duration for the Lancers with two saves.  She has now seen action in three matches this fall while facing 18 shots, though only six have been on target; Hall has stopped four while the two goals were via a deflection and a header from a corner kick opportunity.  She is a junior academically at Longwood, though only joined the women's soccer program last spring while a first-year team member.  She was a member of Washington Freedom U20 team that advanced to the 2010 National U20 Finals in Chicago.

Two-Thirds Of The Way Through
Longwood is now well past the halfway point of its 2011 campaign, having played 12 of the 18 matches on the schedule.  The Lancers have only six matches remaining to be played this month between Oct. 7-30, including four home contests at the Athletics Complex, beginning with the North Carolina State match Friday night.

No Place Like Home
Longwood is 38-13-1 (.740), including 3-3 this season, on its home turf at the Athletics Complex since beginning competition at the facility in 2006.  The Lancers finished 8-2 at home last season, and are 31-12 (.721) at the Athletics Complex since attaining its NCAA Division I certification and eligibility for 2007.

Here We Go Again …
Longwood has played six overtime contests this year, totaling 11 extra 10-minute periods.  Unfortunately, the OT matches have not been kind to the Lancers who have only won one of the beyond-regulation matches (Tennessee Tech).  Longwood has tied three (Richmond, Liberty, George Mason), and lost two (East Tennessee State, Appalachian State) of the OT contests.  Ironically, the Lancers did not play one overtime match during all of last season (19 matches) when the program finished 11-8.  Longwood has played 1176-plus minutes for an average of 98-plus minutes per match – equivalent to a full additional match-plus.

Season & Career-Ending Injury
Unfortunately, fifth-year senior defender and second-year team captain Katie Devlin|Fairfax (W.T. Woodson) will miss the remainder of the season following a (right) knee injury suffered at George Mason Sept. 11.  This is the second time during her career that such an injury has happened to her.  Devlin injured her other (left) knee early during her sophomore (2008) campaign and missed the remainder of that year before receiving a medical hardship waiver that allowed this fifth year with the program.

The Coaching Staff
Eighteenth-year head coach Todd Dyer '93 leads Longwood and is assisted by associate head coach Steve Brdarski, in his eighth season, along with director of soccer operations Lindsey Williams and graduate assistant Marcia Biddle '10.  Dyer is the only coach in the program's history as he has attained an overall coaching record of 190-117-19 (.612) over 17-plus years, including 14 winning seasons.

2011 Captains
Katie Devlin is serving as a team captain for the second consecutive season, while senior defender/midfielder Kacie Oliver and junior forward Lindsey Ottavio are in the team leadership roles for the first time.

Up Next
Longwood will play only one match next week, hosting Cleveland State University of the Horizon League on Oct. 15 at the Athletics Complex in Farmville at 1 p.m.