CLINTON, S.C. – Longwood women's soccer has seen no shortage of heroes this season.
 
Saturday afternoon it was a familiar face who provided the late-game heroics, as junior forward Sheyenne Stretz delivered the golden goal just over two minutes into overtime to send Longwood (7-4-1, 2-1-0 Big South) to a 1-0 win over Presbyterian at Martin Stadium.
 
Stretz scored her second game-winning goal of the season in dramatic fashion, fielding a pass from sophomore Emilie Kupsov and firing it left-footed past Presbyterian keeper Abby Jones to put an end to a hard-fought defensive battle on both sides of the ball. Longwood's game-winning sequence originated from junior midfielder Annie Boros, whose initial feed to Kupsov set in motion the play that bumped Longwood back into the top four of the Big South standings.
 
Six different players have now scored the game-winning goal in Longwood's seven wins, with Stretz becoming the first Lancer this season to net multiple game-winners.
 
 "That was a struggle, but we stuck together and found a way in the end," said head coach Todd Dyer, whose Lancers are now 3-1-2 in overtime games over the past two seasons. "I'm sure PC feels they deserved better, and I wouldn't disagree with them. They did a great job holding their back line, and it shows in how many times we were called offsides."
 
Presbyterian (2-8-0, 0-3-0 Big South) forced the Lancers into a season-high nine offsides calls and held the Lancers to just five shots on goal, tied for their second-lowest output this season. Jones saved four of those, and the Presbyterian defense fended off 11 corner kicks before the Boros-Kupsov-Stretz connection came through 2:28 into the first overtime period.
 
Stretz's third career game-winner backed Longwood's second straight shutout and Big South-leading sixth of the season. Longwood keeper Maria Kirby contributed three saves to that effort, while the backline in front of her – led by Sydney Wallace and Carrie Reaver's marathon 92-plus-minute efforts – held the Blue Hose to just three shots on goal.
 
The Blue Hose entered the game ranked fourth in the Big South with 1.11 goals per game but came up empty against a Longwood team that now leads the Big South with a 0.56 goals against average. Presbyterian managed just three shots on goal but hit the post twice and outshot Longwood 9-5 in the second half.
 
"Presbyterian had the ball plenty and created a lot of chances, so we have some things we need to sort out defensively," Dyer said. "All that said, what matters is we got three points on the road, and the league doesn't keep track of style points."
 
Style points or not, Longwood is now in sole possession of third place in the Big South standings, trailing only undefeated Campbell (6-4-0, 2-0-0 Big South) and Charleston Southern (4-5-0, 2-0-0 Big South). The Lancers will have an opportunity to jump both of those teams next week in a pair of top-tier showdowns, as Campbell  comes to Farmville this Wednesday, Oct. 4, for a 7 p.m. kickoff, followed by Longwood's trip to Charleston Southern on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 2 p.m.
 
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