FARMVILLE, Va. – Dan Campos may be a junior, but he turned in a senior-like performance Wednesday night.
 
With a pair of goals and assists, Campos helped the Longwood men's soccer team (6-11-1, 3-5-0 Big south) secure a spot into the Big South Tournament, as the Lancers knocked off Big South rival Liberty 4-3 in overtime.
 
A product of Bergen, Norway, Campos stole the show on a night in which Longwood honored its six seniors – Carlos Canas, Zach Corcoran, Evan Fowler, Michael Margulis, Finnlay Wyatt and Sam Yardley – before the start of their final home match.
 
"I'm just proud of the seniors, just proud of the program for the fight and endeavor to come back from what looked a bit of a sorry situation for a while. The guys never gave in," said Longwood head coach Jon Atkinson. "We're delighted to come off of the field victorious in overtime against a very tough opposition in Liberty; it just makes that victory taste a little bit sweeter."
 
The coming-out party for Campos came on a night in which he tallied a career-best six points, playing a prominent role in each of Longwood's four goals in the game. With his two assists, Campos matched East Tennessee State's Cameron Woodfin for the NCAA lead with 11 assists this season.
 
"Dan had an MVP night," Atkinson said. "He's shown us over the years he's a very capable player. He's matured a lot, become a selfless player knowing that he still has the ability and the stature to carry a team on his shoulders. Tonight he showed that."
 
Campos started the night off in style with his first goal of the season in the 11th minute, scoring from a seemingly impossible angle to the left of the goal, and ended the game in grand fashion with a free kick from 35 yards out in the 98th minute on a highlight reel goal to the top left corner. Those were his only two goals of the regular season.
 
"It was good timing to score two goals," Campos said. "It was nice to get it out now on this night, not just for me, but for the seniors to keep the season alive. It was an emotional night for us."
 
"There were a lot of thoughts going through my mind," Campos said of his game-winning golden goal. "I've been working on that in practice, but I haven't had the chance to kick one, so today I got that opportunity."
 
Longwood's first win over Liberty in the Division I era gives the Lancers their fourth straight berth into the Big South Tournament, as the squad looks to avenge a 4-3 overtime loss at UNC Asheville earlier this season with a trip to the semifinals on the line. That game will kick off Sunday at 4 p.m.
 
Canas faced an onslaught of 22 shots from the Flames, saving nine, including two in overtime. Canas was able to keep the game alive just long enough to allow the Lancer attack a chance to win it on the other end. He outdueled Liberty's James Knoebel, who had two saves on 13 Longwood shots.
 
"This game, to us, was more than just another game," Canas said. "It wasn't just a rivalry against Liberty. This game marked the possible end to six careers, six guys who have put in their heart, blood, sweat and tears into this program. We played for us, and again, our school, our pride. We had never beaten Liberty until this time, this was the first time I beat Liberty in my four years. This game meant everything to us."
 
A three-time team captain, Canas will go down in history as one of Longwood's premier goalkeepers in the Division I era and ambassadors for the program. A 2015 All-Big South selection, Canas concludes his home finale with nearly 5,000 minutes in goal. In addition, the El Salvadorian Youth National Team has served in the community, serving as a firefighter for two-and-a-half years at the Farmville Fire Department.
 
"It's been a crazy four years for me," Canas said. "Props to Campos on the free kick, and I say goodbye in a good way. It doesn't feel real that I'm leaving, but I feel that I have left the program in better shape than when I came."
 
In a game that each team traded three goals within the opening 13 minutes, Marten Pajunurm gave Longwood a 2-1 lead in the 14th minute to finish off a play on a set piece setup by Campos.
 
That Longwood lead lasted until the 69th minute into the second half before a goal from Geovanny Murillo tallied his first of the season on the first of three goals in a nine minute span between the two teams.
 
Freshman forward Max Poelker scored his seventh goal of the season in the 72nd minute, finishing a through ball sent by Campos past a Liberty defender and setting Poelker up with a one-on-one opportunity.
 
Longwood's six seniors will have the opportunity to play in the Big South Tournament in each of their four seasons in Farmville and will look to advance to the Big South semifinals for the second time in four seasons.
 
"They mean everything, they epitomize the program," Atkinson said of his group of seniors. "They know how much they mean to me and they mean to the program, and to be able to get guys out there contributing and finishing their home stand off the way they did, having not beaten Liberty before is quite a storyline in itself."
 
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