FARMVILLE, Va. – Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Sometimes it's better just to make your own luck.
 
Longwood (3-6-0) did the latter Sunday afternoon, benefitting from a pinball goal off the body of senior Jessica O'Bryant that punctuated a 2-1 double-overtime win against Saint Francis in the non-conference finale at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
 
With fewer than three minutes remaining in the final period, O'Bryant threw her body at Janese Quick's deflected corner kick in the 108th minute and watched as her lone shot of the day ricocheted off a Red Flash defender and arced slowly into the top right corner of the net. The game-winning goal was the first score of the captain O'Bryant's four-year career and sends the Lancers into the start of Big South play winners of two of their past three games.
 
"I didn't even get a clean strike on it, but I knew if I threw my body in front of it, it might go in," O'Bryant said. "I took that chance, and it did."
 
Despite the favorable trajectory of O'Bryant's milestone score, however, the shot was a byproduct of the furious attack Longwood mounted over the final two minutes of the second overtime period. The corner kick that led to the game-winner was Quick's second straight attempt, the first of which was created by a blocked shot at close range from Taylor Alvey, and the second by a team save on a well-placed shot to the lower left corner from Annie Boros.
 
"It might not look pretty, but you have to go for everything," O'Bryant said. "A goal's a goal no matter what it looks like."
 
O'Bryant's first career goal came 38 games and more than 2,000 minutes into her collegiate career and completed a comeback win in which the Lancers battled from a 1-0 deficit eight minutes into the game. That comeback started after Saint Francis forward Alyssa McGhee put the Red Flash ahead 1-0 with a go-ahead goal that was the culmination of an opening barrage featuring four Saint Francis shots in the first eight minutes.
 
That lead held until shortly after halftime when Lancer sophomore Sydney Wallace evened the score at 1-1 with her second goal of the season. That equalizer also came off a corner kick sequence, this one off inserted by Boros to Amanda Spencer, who fired a shot that led to an ensuing rebound that went right to Wallace.
 
"In all my years of coaching, I've learned that an ugly win is better than a pretty loss any day of the week," said head coach Todd Dyer. "That was a grind for 90 minutes plus, and our team found a way to fight and claw their way to a result in the end."
 
O'Bryant, Wallace and senior Jayden Metzger were key on the other end of the field as well, anchoring a defensive unit that forced the Red Flash to misfire 16 of their 24 shots off goal. Wallace and Metzger both put in marathon performances, playing all 108 minutes, while junior goalkeeper Maria Kirby was there to save seven of the eight that made it on target, including one from All-Northeast Conference first-teamer Gabi Morales 15 seconds into the second overtime.
 
"Saint Francis dictated a lot of the game, and I thought they were moving better than us on and off of the ball," Dyer said. "They created plenty of chances, and I'm sure they're feeling like they deserved better.  On that note, soccer is a crazy game sometimes, and we'll never apologize for a win. Now we need to have a solid week of practice, get our act together on both sides of the ball and be ready to take on a very strong Gardner-Webb team for our first conference game."
 
Now through the entire non-conference slate and at the halfway point of the season, Longwood opens Big South play this Saturday at 2 p.m. against conference rival Gardner-Webb at home. The Lancers will be in pursuit of their first Big South championship and fourth trip to the conference championship tournament in five years as a member of the league.
 
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