HARRISONBURG, Va. – Behind a milestone second-half goal from Christina Corbin and four saves from goalkeeper Maria Kirby, Longwood took defending Colonial Athletic Association champion James Madison to the wire and escaped with a 1-1 draw in the preseason finale Sunday evening at University Park.
 
Squaring off against a James Madison program that had routed ACC foe Wake Forest 4-1 in preseason action just three days prior, the Lancers struck first on a 52nd-minute go-ahead score from Corbin that was her first since the 2014 season. James Madison sophomore Steffi Page responded with a game-tying goal in the 59th minute, but Longwood's back line held on the rest of the way to end the 90-minute scrimmage in a deadlock.
 
"I'm really proud of the effort and fight our team showed today," said Longwood head coach Todd Dyer. "It was a battle for sure, but we also showed some initiative in our attack by scoring the first goal of the game.
 
The draw came against a Dukes program that has amassed a 41-20-3 record over the past three years with double-digit wins in all three of those campaigns. It was only the second meeting in the series between the Commonwealth foes, extending a series that began with a 2-0 James Madison win in Farmville, Va., on Sept. 22, 2013.
 
"James Madison is the defending CAA champion and definitely one of the elite teams in Virginia, and in the region for that matter," Dyer said. "For us to earn a tie against a program of that caliber shows what we're capable of this year."
 
Corbin sparked the preseason-ending draw with a 52nd-minute goal that announced her return to the field after she missed her entire 2015 junior campaign due to injury. Her resurgent score was opened up by fellow senior and three-time All-Big South midfielder Amanda Spencer, who fed her a cross into the box just seven minutes into the second half.
 
"It's great to be back and make an impact," said Corbin, who has played at least 40 minutes in both preseason games to start her senior season. "We wanted to come out strong in the second half, so scoring in the first 10 minutes really gave us that boost."
 
Longwood managed just one shot on James Madison's net in the opening half while Kirby fought off all three she faced on Longwood's end. The lone shot that got past her came in the second half off the foot of the Stony Brook transfer Page in the 59th minute that ran the score to 1-1. The Dukes fired 10 more shots the rest of the way, but Longwood defenders blocked five of those, and freshman keeper Caroline Serniak deflected another for her first collegiate save.
 
The tie avenges Longwood's preseason-opening 1-0 loss to VCU this past Friday and sends the Lancers into this Friday's regular season opener against Richmond with a 0-1-1 performance in the preseason. That game kicks off at 7 p.m. at the Longwood Athletics Complex.

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