CHARLESTON, S.C. – Amanda Spencer scored twice to back a nine-save shutout from goalkeeper Maria Kirby and lead surging Longwood to a 2-0 Big South road win at Charleston Southern Saturday afternoon at CSU Soccer Field.
 
Spencer found the net in the 29th and 53rd minutes to send the Lancers (8-5-2, 4-1-2 Big South) to their second straight win and extend the team's unbeaten streak to five straight games. Longwood is now 5-1-2 over the past eight games with five shutouts during that span, all from the sophomore Kirby who is 6-2-1 as Longwood's netminder this season.
 
"Another defensive shutout and three more points earned on the road," said Longwood head coach Todd Dyer. "The attacking success we had in the first half hurt us a little in the second because everyone started bombing forward, and we lost our shape and discipline at times. We played a lot of quality soccer, but we also exposed some areas we still need to improve on. Campbell is our focus now."
 
Charleston Southern (6-6-2, 3-4-0 Big South) took advantage of those defensive miscues, but Kirby made up for the lapses by turning away all nine shots on goal she faced. The shutout was Kirby's sixth of the season, Longwood's seventh as a team and came against a Buccaneer squad whose roster includes the conference's second leading scorer, Anna Sells.
 
Sells had her opportunities, cracking four of her five shots on goal, but Kirby dispatched every one of those. With the Longwood sophomore stonewalling Charleston Southern's high-volume attack, Spencer went to work on the offensive end and scored in both halves en route to her sixth career multi-goal game.
 
A two-time All-Big South selection, Spencer has now scored in three straight games and reached the 20-goal plateau for her career Saturday. Her scoring onslaught has coincided with that of the Lancers, who wrapped up a three-game road swing by outscoring Big South foes Gardner-Webb, Presbyterian and Charleston 6-3 en route to two wins and a double-overtime draw.
 
Longwood's hot streak, which began directly after a 4-0 loss to No. 5 West Virginia on Sept. 13, has lifted the Lancers to fourth place in the Big South, trailing only Liberty (7-6-1, 5-1-0 Big South), Campbell (10-5-0, 5-2-0) and Coastal Carolina (8-5-1, 4-1-1 Big South).
 
The stage is now set for a pair of top-four showdowns, as Longwood will host both second-place Campbell and first-place Liberty in two of their final three regular season games. Campbell is up first as the Lancers return to the Athletics Complex this Wednesday, Oct. 21, for a 7 p.m. showdown on the Big South Network, followed by a road trip to UNC Asheville on Oct. 24 and the season finale and senior night at home against Liberty on Oct. 27.
 
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