9.18.2012 | Big South Conference Weekly Report (pdf)
FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University split its final two non-conference matches of the season this past weekend, taking a 2-1 home victory past East Tennessee State University of the Atlantic Sun Conference on September 14 in Farmville before a 3-1 road setback at Cleveland State University of the Horizon League on Sept. 16 in Ohio. The Lancers (5-3) will only play Big South Conference contests for the rest of their 2012 campaign, beginning this week as UNC Asheville visits for the first league game on Thursday night, Sept. 20, at the Athletics Complex in Farmville at 7 p.m.
Recapping ETSU
Longwood and ETSU battled early before sophomore
Samantha Phillips|Chesapeake (Grassfield) finished a pass in the box from senior captain
Lindsey Ottavio|Fairfax (W.T. Woodson) to the right post at 21:37. It was the second goal of the season for Phillips, and the first assist of the fall by Ottavio. It remained 1-0 at the intermission and for 20-plus minutes into the second half before the Lady Bucs were credited with an own goal at 66:35 when a free kick was inadvertently deflected backwards into the net. Freshman
Bridget Bergquist|Bristow (Brentsville) entered the match off the bench and promptly beat the keeper with her shot to the left-side of the net at 68:56 for the game-winner, and her first collegiate goal. She was assisted by classmate
Olivia Colella|Herndon (Chantilly), who had played a solid through ball to Bergquist. Each team took eight shots during the well-played match, and ETSU had a slight 6-5 edge in attempts on goal, though Longwood had an 8-4 advantage in corner kicks. Phillips, Bergquist and Ottavio were among five Lancers with single shot attempts on goal. Senior keeper
Kyra Byron|Richmond (Mills E. Godwin) played the duration in front of the net with five saves toward the triumph. Longwood and ETSU were playing for just the second time in the sport of women's soccer as the young series is now tied at 1-1.
Quoting Head Coach Todd Dyer
“That's a fantastic result for our team against a very strong program that has really gotten off to a good start this year. We were able to establish some possession early in the game, and after settling in, we found ways to run at their back line and create some chances. On that note, I thought we let a few of those chances slip away, but Sam and Bridget got the goals we needed in the end. Defensively, we were solid and the only goal we conceded was an own goal on our part, which happens sometimes when you get pinned in deep and loose balls start banging around your own penalty area.”
Recapping CSU
Longwood yielded an early goal on a corner kick at 9:25. It remained a one-goal advantage at the intermission, before senior
Nikki Glisson|Mechanicsville (Hanover) tied the match at 1-1 with her shot to the far post at 55:06, aided by sophomore
Taylor Cave|Virginia Beach (Kellam), who played the ball out from the corner. It was the first goal of the season for Glisson, and the first career assist for Cave. CSU went ahead for good on an unassisted goal at 65:54, and secured the outcome with a third goal at 80:41. The Vikings took a 12-6 advantage in shots, including 9-4 in attempts on goal, though Longwood had a 3-2 edge on corner kicks. Junior
Kelsey Pardue|Henrico (Hermitage) and freshman
Alana Mackey|Leesburg (Loudoun County) each had two shots for the Lancers. Junior keeper
Shelby Hall|Purcellville (Loudoun Valley) made her first start and appearance of the season and played the duration in front of the net for the visitors with six saves. Longwood and CSU were playing for just the second time in the sport of women's soccer as the young series is now tied at 1-1.
Quoting Head Coach Todd Dyer
“We made too many mistakes in our back third today and we paid for that by conceding three goals on the road. We possessed the ball well a lot of the time, but just didn't create enough scoring chances. However, the result serves as a good reality check before conference play starts on Thursday and we will work hard this week to turn today into a positive.”
Big South … Here We Come
Longwood has completed the non-league portion of its schedule and will play only
Big South Conference matches the rest of the season. Through the non-conference games, the Lancers are tied for second in wins (5) and fourth in winning percentage (.625). Longwood will play 11-straight Big South contests, beginning Sept. 20 and ending October 23. The Big South Conference Tournament will include the top eight teams playing quarterfinal matches at the four highest seeds on Oct. 27, followed by semifinal matches on November 2 and the tournament championship contest on Nov. 4, hosted by Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Leading The Lancers | Team Statistics
Lindsey Ottavio leads Longwood in scoring through eight matches with her two goals and one assist totaling five points.
Samantha Phillips adds two goals and four points,
Kelsey Pardue has one goal and one assist for three points, while
Nikki Glisson, sophomore
Kylie Dyer|Farmville (Prince Edward County) along with
Bridget Bergquist and fellow freshman
Haylea Witz|Chesapeake (Grassfield) each add one goal for two points apiece.
Taylor Cave,
Olivia Colella and sophomore
Kelsey McDonald|Kennett Square, Pa. (Unionville) have each contributed one assist for the Lancers totaling one point.
Kyra Byron has played 641 minutes in front of the net while allowing eight goals (1.12) with 31 saves (.795) on 81 shots with three shutouts.
Shelby Hall has played 90 minutes in front of the net while allowing three goals (3.00) with six saves (.667) on 12 shots.
NCAA/Big South Statistics
Longwood ranked 85th in
Division I winning percentage (.625) through Sept. 16, and 96th in shutout percentage (0.375).
Kyra Byron ranked 118th in save percentage (.795) and 133rd in goals-against average (1.12). The Lancers are second in the
Big South in home attendance (559), tied for second in shutouts (3), tied for fifth in goals allowed (10), seventh in goals (9) and saves (37), tied for eighth in points (23) and tied for ninth in assists (5).
Kyra Byron ranks second in the conference in shutouts (3), fourth in goals-against average (1.12), fifth in save percentage (.795) and tied for seventh in saves (31).
Kelsey Pardue ranks third in shots (24).
In The Record Book
Kyra Byron ranks second in career goals against average for keepers at Longwood with her 0.87 gaa. She has allowed just 31 goals while playing 3204 minutes through three-plus seasons.
Lindsey Ottavio ranks in a tie for third in career goals for the Lancers with 24 goals through three-plus seasons.
Big South Conference Defensive Player Of The Week
Kyra Byron was named the Big South Conference
Defensive Player Of The Week Sept. 11 for her effort during a 1-0 shutout road victory at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County on Sept. 9. She is Longwood's second Big South Player of the Week (see below) through the first four weeks of the season. Byron posted six saves for the Lancers against the Retrievers with five of her saves in the second half, including four after Longwood had taken a one-goal advantage. It was the third shutout in six matches this season for Byron, the fourth-year team member who now totals 10 shutouts in her career to rank sixth all-time.
Big South Conference/Attacking Player Of The Week
Lindsey Ottavio was named the Big South Conference
Attacking Player Of The Week August 28 for her effort during the 2-1 double-overtime home win past Richmond on August 24. She is Longwood's first Big South Player of the Week since the school joined the conference on July 1. Ottavio scored two unassisted goals, including the game-winner just 50-seconds into the second extra period to lead the Lancers (3-1) past the Spiders. She scored her first goal in the 65th minute, taking the ball through the middle of the box while beating both a defender and the keeper with a shot to the left side of the net at 64:35. Ottavio finally ended the well-played match at 100:50 when she took a loose ball in the box and once again beat the keeper with a hard shot to the left side for the sudden victory. The second-year team captain now ranks in a tie for third in career goals at Longwood with 24, including eight game-winning goals. Ottavio was also named the College Sports Madness Big South Player of the Week.
Big South Network
Longwood will produce its first-ever
Big South Network live video-streamed broadcast during the UNC Asheville contest. The Big South Network is the official video provider for all Big South Conference games. Each member institution is required to produce broadcasts for home events to be streamed via the conference network. The Lancers will stream three women's soccer matches this fall, including the matches against visiting Winthrop University (Oct. 4) and Virginia Military Institute (Oct. 20). The Big South Network has an archive of on-demand videos that can be viewed for free. A paid subscription is required to view live events, with both single-game and season passes available. You can view the
Longwood Lancers TV page to watch all of the Lancers' webcasts and see a schedule of upcoming events.
No Place Like Home
Longwood is now 43-15-2 (.733) on its home turf at the Athletics Complex since beginning competition at the facility in 2006. The Lancers are 36-14-1 (.716) at home since attaining its NCAA Division I certification and eligibility for 2007.
2012 Captains
Lindsey Ottavio is serving as a team captain for the second consecutive season, while senior
Natalie Massey|Virginia Beach (Landstown) is in the team leadership role for the first time.
Youth Being Served
Ten freshmen and/or sophomores have made starts through the opening six matches. The Lancers have nine true sophomores and 10 true freshmen among their 28-player roster, and overall, 15 of them have seen action this season.
The Coaching Staff
Head coach
Todd Dyer '93 is in his 19th year leading Longwood and is assisted by associate head coach Steve Brdarski, in his ninth season, along with student assistant
Rachel Powers '14. Coach Dyer enters this week with a career coaching record of 198-122-20 while closing on career milestone victory number 200.
Up Next
Following the
UNC Asheville contest, Longwood will remain at home on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 22, for a 2 p.m. contest against visiting Big South member
Presbyterian College.
