FARMVILLE, Va. – Senior Zach Crandall hit the game-winner from the top of the box in the 106th minute to lift the Longwood men's soccer team to its second straight overtime victory by a score of 3-2 over Howard Tuesday night at the Athletics Complex.

Crandall's game-winner, his third goal this season, gives the Lancers a golden goal in back-to-back matches to push its record to 7-6-0 on the year. Meanwhile, Howard falls to 0-14-2 on the season.

"I thought we did well at certain stages of the game," said head coach Jon Atkinson. "There was a little panic for a few minutes after we gave up that first goal, but I was happy to see our guys battle back the way they did and get the job done. We need to focus on keeping that intensity level even keel throughout the entire game instead of just having it at certain stages."

Longwood put constant pressure on the Bison throughout the match, out shooting Howard 29-9 on the night, including 6-1 shots in the two overtime periods. A total of nine Lancers recorded shots in the game, including a game-high six off the foot of Crandall.

"Getting these two tight games will help us gain confidence for the future," Crandall said. "The last two games we played have been against two very capable teams, so being able to finish against them will allow our confidence to grow in games down the road."

Junior goalkeeper Carlos Canas recorded his second straight victory in goal and his team-high fourth of the season. Canas posted two saves in the victory on nine Howard shots in the game. The two goals given up by Canas marks the most he has allowed since giving up a pair to Coastal Carolina in the first round of the Big South Tournament on Nov.11 of last season.

Meanwhile, Bison goalkeeper Sam Howard was able to keep his team in the game despite the shot differential, as he came up with 10 saves in the contest, including six in the opening half.

"I thought their keeper was solid tonight," Atkinson said. "He kept them in the game and gave their guys a chance to win."

Howard opened the scoring in the 16th minute, as Isaac Mbappe tallied his third goal of the season, off a free kick from Xavier Rajpaul.

The Lancers answered via Willy Miezan's ninth goal of the season in the 57th minute, as he took a feed from Mo Jalloh on the left side of the six-yard box and placed a shot past Howard goalkeeper Sam Howard.

With his goal, Miezan moves to 11th in the nation in goals scored with nine and is now four goals shy of fifth on Longwood's all-time single season goals scored chart.
Howard regained the lead in the 71st minute, as Victor Guirma knocked in a shot inside the six-yard box to give the Bison their second lead of the night.

However, the Bison lead would be short-lived, as Will Lambert answered with his second goal of the season off a ball that deflected off a Howard defender in the six-yard area.

Overcoming two deficits in the game, Crandall sealed the win for the Lancers after firing a shot from the top of the 18-yard box past Howard to give Longwood the win. The game-winning goal from Crandall was the fourth of his Longwood career.

"We found a way these last two games and that was the most important thing," Atkinson said of Longwood's two overtime victories in back-to-back games against Presbyterian and Howard

The Lancers now prepare for the last game of a three-game home stand, as 10th-ranked Coastal Carolina travels to Farmville Saturday, Oct. 24. Kickoff from the Athletics Complex is set for 2 p.m.

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