LYNCHBURG, Va. – Longwood forward
Zach Crandall found the net in the 63rd minute for the equalizer, as the Longwood men's soccer team overcame a second-half deficit to earn a 3-3 draw at Liberty Tuesday night at Osborne Field.
Playing their fourth straight overtime game, Longwood earned a hard-earned point in the standings with its first tie of the season. With the tie, Longwood (7-7-1, 2-3-1 BSC) climbs to within a point of fourth-place High Point in the Big South standings, while Liberty stands at 5-9-1 overall with a 1-5-1 ledger in the conference.
"That was a fantastic game," said Longwood head coach
Jon Atkinson. "They had the game in their hands and our guys were able to take it away from them. The guys performed well, with a lot of heart. It was just unfortunate we didn't have one more play in us in the overtime, but overall it was fantastic spirit and commitment."
Despite harsh playing conditions in heavy rain, the Lancers remained poised as junior
Dan Campos dribbled into the box from the left side and pushed it in to the senior Crandall, who struck in a goal from up top to even the score 3-3.
"It was monumental to get a result tonight," Atkinson said. "I thought we played well enough to get the three points tonight, but we've now put together back-to-back performances against very capable programs and just show how we can compete against quality teams."
Longwood keeper
Carl Carpenter played 72 minutes and recorded one save to earn the tie, before giving way to
Carlos Canas. Canas came on and made two key saves in the final 37 minutes, one of which came in the overtime period to secure the tie. Meanwhile, Liberty goalkeeper Jeremy Lee notched six saves.
Liberty scored two goals within one minute of each other in the second half to erase a 2-1 Lancer halftime lead. A Sachem Wilson goal in the 55th minute from the right side of the box tied the game, before Kevin Mendoza scored 58 seconds later.
In a first half controlled by Longwood and took a 2-1 lead into the locker room, the Lancers outshot the Flames by a 14-5 margin, with Liberty goalkeeper making three key first half saves to keep the Flames in the game.
The Lancers had a chance for the game-winner late in the first overtime, after a shot from Crandall hit the crossbar and appeared to bounce to a wide open
Willy Miezan in the 18-yard box. However, the play was blown dead due to the ball being ruled to have hit the top of the netting.
Michael Durr scored his first goal of the season in the 30th minute off a set piece where Campos struck a corner kick. Durr settled the ball from the top of the 18-yard box, dribbled two steps to his left before releasing a right-footed shot that snuck past Liberty goalkeeper Jeremy Lee.
The Flames answered in the 36th minute on a goal from Tyler Bullock, as his shot hit the post and snuck past Carpenter on the near post.
However, just 25 seconds after Liberty tied the game,
Willy Miezan struck with his 10th goal of the season after breaking in on goal after a through ball from
Christian Keilty, bringing him to ninth nationally and tied for second in the Big South with Radford's Sivert Daehlie. With his goal, Miezan is four goals shy of the top-five in program history in single season goals.
"You could sense after that Liberty goal really gave their guys a lift and a boost of confidence," Atkinson said. "To respond as quickly as we did after that goal, that really gave our guys a sense of belief."
Liberty answered in the 55th minute, as Sachem Wilson took a pass from Tyler Bullock in the six-yard penalty area and was able to net his fifth of the season.
The Flames took their first lead of the night just over a minute later, as Kevin Mendoza perfectly placed a shot to the far post past Carpenter.
The Lancers answered in the 65th minute, as Campos sent a ball to
Zach Crandall at the top of the box. Crandall then tied the game, as the goal marked his third straight game with a tally.
Up next, Longwood returns to the Athletics Complex Saturday, Oct. 31, as the squad welcomes UNC Asheville. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
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