FARMVILLE, Va. – Despite doubling ACC foe Pittsburgh in shots by a 21-10 margin and carrying the play throughout, the Longwood men's soccer team was unable to find an equalizer in the final 13 minutes, falling to the Panthers by a 2-1 margin Monday night at the Athletics Complex.

Longwood answered a pair of Pitt (2-5-2) goals separated by less than seven minutes midway through the second half, as senior Finnlay Wyatt brought the deficit to within one in the 77th minute. Longwood had a pair of chances in the game's final 10 minutes with Dan Campos firing a pair of shots and Wyatt's desperation shot at the final buzzer just outside the 18-yard box whistling wide.

"I couldn't be more proud of the application tonight," said Longwood head coach Jon Atkinson. "We ran our socks off and I didn't think we deserved the loss. The quality we showed in the first half was as good as I've seen in a long time."

The loss for the Lancers (3-5-1) marks the third straight for the squad, as Longwood played just 13 players throughout with nine players playing the full 90 minutes. Playing two regular season games against ACC foes – Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh – Longwood dropped a pair of one-goal games.

Five Lancers had multiple shots in Monday's contest, including five apiece from Wyatt, Campos and freshman Connor Rea. In addition, Michael Margulis posted three shots and Max Poelker added a pair.

"When you are that in control, you have to hammer home goals or you can be left disappointed as we were tonight," Atkinson said. "Credit Pitt for capitalizing as they did."

Junior David Hay (0-1-0) got the start in goal – the first of his Longwood career – and made three saves, while facing 10 Panther shots throughout the contest. Mikal Outcalt (2-5-2) earned the win for Pittsburgh, making four saves on 21 Longwood shots.

Despite a scoreless first half, Longwood carried possession throughout and had a 6-5 edge in shots. The Lancers had the best opportunity of the period that came in the 22nd minute, as Zach Corcoran found Sherif Maalouf in the box with Campos alongside him before the play was called offside.

Pittsburgh forward John Fritz scored the game's first goal in the 52nd minute, as he received the ball on the left wing. He was able to beat the Longwood defense and clanked a shot from the left side of the six-yard box off the right post and into the back of the net.

Less than seven minutes later, Matt Venanzi gave the Panthers an insurance goal off a set piece. Josh Coan took a free kick and passed it to Venanzi just outside the 18-yard box, before he rifled a shot past Hay.

With the Lancers in desperation mode, Wyatt brought his squad back to within one, as he finished a play in the box with his second goal of the season. The play was set up by Poelker and Campos, as Campos recorded his fifth assist in the past six games.

Following the goal that brought the Lancers back to within one, Longwood outshot the Panthers by a 4-1 margin in the game's final 13 minutes, but was unable to find the equalizer.

"We've set the bar for our remaining matches and if we fully commit to this than we'll make the Big South very interesting," Atkinson said.

Longwood will have five days to regroup, before returning to Big South play Saturday, Oct. 1, to host Campbell at the Athletics Complex. The opening kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

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