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FARMVILLE, Va. – Sophomore defender
Sydney Wallace tallied her fourth goal of the season and junior goalkeeper
Maria Kirby posted her sixth clean sheet, as the Longwood women's soccer team wrapped up its regular season with a 1-0 win over Presbyterian Tuesday night at the Athletics Complex.
The Lancers (8-9-1; 5-3-1 Big South) concluded a dominant home slate that saw the squad finish 7-2-0 while reeling off seven consecutive victories. In addition, Longwood captured a shutout victory against all five Big South opponents it played at the Athletics Complex and had six for the season. With the five Big South shutouts, the Lancers posted the league's best home record in conference play and are the lone school in the Big South to go without conceding a goal to a conference opponent on their home field.
"We're proud of the fact that we won all five conference games on our home field and didn't concede a single goal in the process," said Longwood head coach
Todd Dyer. "Presbyterian made us sweat until the end, but that result helps us jump up a spot in the standings as we wrap up our regular season and head into the tournament."
With the win, Longwood will enter the Big South Tournament as the fifth seed and travel to Gardner-Webb in a rematch of a game that saw the Lancers score five second-half goals in a 5-0 win on Sept. 24. The blue and white enter the tournament as one of the league's hottest teams, winning three of their final four games, all shutout victories.
"The back-to-back shutouts will give us a lot of confidence going into the tournament," Wallace said. "We can build of these last two games and the mentality that we've been playing with as a group."
A product of Fredericksburg, Va., Wallace tallied her fourth goal of the season in the 42nd minute off a
Janese Quick corner kick, as she deflected a shot off
Sheyenne Stretz past directly in front of Blue Hose goalkeeper Alyssa Leaman.
Meanwhile, Kirby notched her sixth clean sheet of the season and rattled off back-to-back shutouts to conclude the regular season against Charleston Southern and Presbyterian. The junior goalkeeper was aided by the effort of a Longwood back line – Wallace,
Jayden Metzger,
Gina D'Orazio and
Jessica O'Bryant – that allowed a total of five shots in the final two games of the regular season.
"To finish the regular season with two straight shutout wins is a great feeling to have heading into the tournament," Kirby said. "The back line has been really solid all season and I love playing with them. I think we really have a strong bond and play well together."
Kirby concluded a standout junior season in which she finished among the top-three in the league in goals against average (0.95 GAA), saves (81) and shutouts (6). In addition, Kirby's two Big South Defensive Player of the Week accolades rank tied for the most in the conference.
Alyssa Leaman took the loss for the Blue Hose (3-14-0; 1-8-0 Big South), playing the first 45 minutes and giving up one goal on 11 Longwood shot attempts. She was one of three Presbyterian goalkeepers to see game action, as Cadye Picklesimer and Abby Jones combined for five saves in the second half.
"Now, we wipe the slate clean and look forward to our opportunity in the quarterfinals with excitement," Dyer said.
The quarterfinal matchup between the Lancers and Runnin' Bulldogs is set for Friday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m., with the winner of that contest advancing to the semifinals at Bryan Park in Greensboro, N.C.
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