FARMVILLE, Va. – Midfielder
Finnlay Wyatt tallied two goals and forward
Willy Miezan scored the game-winner in the 74th-minute to lead the Longwood men's soccer team to a 3-2 victory over UNC Asheville Saturday afternoon at the Athletics Complex.
With the win, the Lancers (8-7-1, 3-3-1 BSC) climb the Big South standings to fourth in the league, one point ahead of Gardner-Webb and Campbell, as well as two points ahead of High Point. Meanwhile, UNC Asheville (5-9-1, 2-5-0 BSC) falls to ninth in the league standings.
"It was a must-win for us to consolidate a tournament run and get as high in the rankings as possible," said Longwood head coach
Jon Atkinson. "I'm delighted to get the win, but we made it difficult work. I'm glad we had the belief and execution to come out on top today."
The game-winner for Miezan, who came off the bench in Saturday's win, marks his second game-winning goal of the season and his third goal in the last four games. His 11 goals on the season rank second in the conference and propels the Alexandria, Va., product to tied for seventh nationally. Miezan is now two goals shy of fifth in Longwood's all-time record book for most goals scored in a single season.
The four points from Wyatt, a junior from Sheffield, England, marks his second career four-point contest. Wyatt played all 90 minutes in the contest, registering a game-high nine shots with four on goal.
"I've been generating lots of shots by myself, but nothing before today has gone in for me," Wyatt said. "It's been a little frustrating at times for me personally, but we've been playing well as a team and were able to get the win today which is most important."
Wyatt, who came into the game second in the Big South in shots taken, was able to answer back after UNC Asheville was able to take a pair of leads in the first half.
"Finnlay is a difference maker, he's a quality player for us," Atkinson said. "He has the capability to turn any game. His commitment to us and everything I ask of him, I couldn't ask for a better player."
In goal,
Carlos Canas earned his fifth win of the season, while Asheville goalkeeper Zak Davis made five saves in the loss.
UNC Ashville was able to take the lead on two occasions in the first half, following goals from Emil Gonsalvez and Grady Bradshaw. However, the Wyatt-led Lancers answered back each time. Wyatt's first goal came in the 33rd minute after
Will Lambert fed a ball up the right side to
Christian Keilty, who's cross reached Wyatt in front of the goal.
"The game was a tale of two halves," Atkinson said. "In the first half, I didn't think we played the way I think we're capable of playing, but credit a committed Asheville team. Credit to the guys in the second half, we steadied the ship and played the way we're capable."
After Bradshaw's tally off a free kick to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead in the 35th minute, Wyatt answered once more after receiving a free kick from
Dan Campos just outside the right side the 18-yard box. Campos directed his free kick to Wyatt, who dribbled two steps to his left before firing a shot past Davis. The assist from Campos marked his second straight with a point, giving the junior midfielder points for the third time in the past five contests.
The Lancers controlled play throughout the second half, as the back line of
Michael Durr,
Marten Pajunurm and
Alex Waite gave up just one UNC Asheville shot. Meanwhile, the Lancers rifled 12 shots in the second period.
That set up Miezan's game-winner which came in the 74th minute. The redshirt-freshman took a feed from Lambert – who tallied two assists on the day – and blasted a shot into the lower right side of the net.
Longwood travels to Boiling Springs, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 4 for its final regular season road contest against Gardner-Webb. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
"The win allows us to take some confidence with us to Gardner-Webb," Atkinson said. "We've played two complete games before today and a solid half today. We have a couple areas we can work on to improve before traveling to Gardner-Webb."
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