FARMVILLE, Va. – Two late goals from Meghan Magee and Amanda Spencer punctuated a dominant defensive effort and propelled Longwood to a season-opening 2-0 shutout over American Friday evening at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
 
The Lancers (1-0-0) held American (0-1-0) to just five shots on goal for the entire game – all saved by senior goalkeeper Hailey Machen – and rode to a season-opening victory for the third time in the past four years. The win stood up on the strength of Spencer's team-leading 17th career goal in the 74th minute and Magee's insurance score five minutes later.
 
"It's always good to start the season with a positive result like that," said Longwood head coach Todd Dyer. "To finish out the game the way we did while winning with a shutout is another good sign. We still have a lot of better soccer ahead of us, and we just have to keep working hard and trust the process. Spencer and Magee really gave us a lift tonight, and we need to find a way to help them carry the load."
 
Spencer's go-ahead goal came on Longwood's 13th shot of the game after 73 minutes of scoreless play. The scoring sequence for Longwood's two-time All-Big South selection started on a corner kick from Olivia Colella that was redirected to the top of the box where Spencer was waiting to unleash a line drive through traffic and into the back of the net.
 
Magee followed just over five minutes later with a putback from a blocked shot that originated off the foot of freshman defender Sydney Wallace. It was the first career goal for the senior Magee, who shrugged off the milestone in favor of highlighting her defensive unit's shutout.
 
"We pride ourselves more in shutouts than scoring goals," she said. "You can't lose if you don't give up a goal."
 
The shutout came exactly one week after the Lancers held visiting East Carolina to a 1-1 draw in their lone exhibition match of the preseason and continued a trend of defensive dominance from the keeper Machen and her veteran backfield contingent of Magee, Alana Mackey, Jayden Metzger, Jessica O'Bryant and Haylea Witz. Metzger, Mackey and Witz played all 90 minutes and helped hold American to just 10 shots, including only five on goal, and one corner kick.
 
"We have a really veteran group back there," Magee said. "The freshmen who've started to play with us, we've been able to pull them in and get them on the same page. Everyone's working together and communicating. Everyone's really focused. We want a shutout, especially on our home field."
 
The shutout was the fourth of Machen's career and featured a highlight-reel deflection over the net on a rocket from 20 feet out off the foot of American's Kira Flaherty. That shot came in the 61st minute and would be the last Machen faced as Longwood flipped the field and fired 11 shots at the American net over the remainder of the game.
 
Longwood will look to ride Friday's momentum into Sunday's 7 p.m. home matchup against Youngstown State. That game will serve as the culmination of Longwood's sixth-annual Greatest Athletics March Ever 6.0, an annual Longwood production from the Office of First Year Experience that begins at 6 p.m. Sunday. The game will also air on the Big South Network.
 
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