FARMVILLE, Va. – Winthrop forward Jordan Stoddart scored the game-winning goal in the 52nd minute to propel the Eagles to a 1-0 victory over the Longwood men's soccer team Saturday afternoon at the Athletics Complex.
"Congratulations to Winthrop, they are a caliber team," said Longwood head coach
Jon Atkinson. "This was a tight game with a few moments for each team and they were able to convert their moment."
The win gives Winthrop (9-6-1, 7-1-1 BSC) the Big South regular season title and clinches the No. 1 seed entering next week's Big South Tournament, while the Lancers (9-8-1, 4-4-1 BSC) finish fifth in the conference standings and travel to Campbell to open the tournament.
Wintrop's go-ahead goal from Stoddart in the 52nd minute came after he picked off a Lancer defender and dribbled into the right side of the 18-yard box before striking the ball into the left side of the net, out of the reach of Longwood senior goalkeeper
Carl Carpenter.
The two teams played an even first half, with the Lancers holding the advantage in shots by a 7-5 margin. Longwood had the best chance of the opening 45 minutes, where the Lancers fired four shots within 20 seconds. Senior forward
Zach Crandall had two chances stopped by Winthrop goalkeeper Fabian Broich, before
Will Lambert hit the crossbar and
Daena Bodie had a shot blocked.
"If we're able to convert that chance that goes off the crossbar, that would've brought a different complexion to the game," Atkinson said.
Carpenter recorded two saves on 13 shots in his final 90 minutes of regular season action. Meanwhile, Broich notched a pair of saves while facing nine Longwood shots.
Longwood honored eight seniors prior to kickoff, including Carpenter,
Bodie, Crandall, Lambert,
Zach Corcoran,
Michael Durr,
Christian Keilty,
Sam Yardley.
In addition, Longwood welcomed back more than 40 men's soccer alumni, as former Longwood head coach Rich Posipanko coached his final regular season game for the Eagles.
"We really appreciate the efforts for so many of the alumni to come back today," Atkinson said. "I wish we could've gotten the win for them to savor, but they can be proud of the guys efforts today."
Longwood returns to the site of its first Big South victory this season, as the Lancers travel to Campbell Tuesday.
#GoWood
