September 21, 2011

Box Score

LEXINGTON, Va. - The Longwood University men's soccer team defeated in-state opponent Virginia Military Institute of the Big South Conference 4-0 on Wednesday afternoon in Lexington. Senior Zack Mahon|San Antonio, Texas (William Howard Taft) scored the match-winning goal in the 24th minute before the Lancers (3-3-1) added three second-half goals against the Keydets (0-8). Longwood returns to action on Saturday, September 24, when it hosts the University of Maryland-Baltimore County of the America East Conference at 7 p.m. at the Athletics Complex in Farmville.

Mahon scored the match-winner at 23:44 when he collected a loose ball that deflected off of a VMI defender and sent a shot past the Keydet goalkeeper. The Lancers had several scoring opportunities, but could not add to the lead until junior Devin Pierce|Virginia Beach (Ocean Lakes) added an insurance goal at 74:35. Junior Vinnie Llana|Raleigh, N.C. (Broughton) sent a pass across the box to Pierce, who sent a shot to the left of the keeper from 10 yards out to make the score 2-0. Sophomore Nick Surkamp|Manassas (Osbourn Park) pushed the lead to 3-0 at 80:25 on a blast from 15 yards into the upper-right corner. Freshman Taylor Evans|South Riding (Freedom) scored the final goal at 82:07 on a header off a corner kick from Llana.

“I'm happy for the team to have come through this test with flying colors,” said head coach Jon Atkinson. “We were able to get many players time on the field and the end result will do our confidence a world of good. My only gripe is that we didn't execute well enough for the chances we created and left it late before we tucked the game away.”

Longwood outshot VMI 23-10 and had an 8-0 advantage on corner kicks. Surkamp attempted a match-high 10 shots with seven shots on goal, while Pierce added three shots and Llana contributed two assists. Three other Lancers attempted two shots. Senior Joel Helmick|Springfield (W.T. Woodson) recorded four saves in 82:07 in goal, while freshman Paul Hegedus|Ashburn (Broad Run) preserved the shutout over the final 7:53. VMI was paced by Matt Seinfeld with five shots, while Taylor Feuerstein made 11 saves while playing the duration in goal.