CLINTON, S.C. – Presbyterian forward and All-Big South second-team selection Marcos Kitromilides' goal in the 20th minute led the reigning Big South Tournament champion and third-seeded Blue Hose past the Longwood men's soccer team 3-0 Sunday night in the quarterfinals of the Big South Championship at Edens Field at Martin Stadium.
Kitromilides scored his sixth goal of the season midway through the opening half while Clement Vannier and Plamen Mangarov added a pair of insurance goals to spoil Longwood's (5-13-1) comeback attempt in the second half to help Presbyterian (7-11) advance to the Big South semifinal for the third consecutive season.
"Take nothing away from Presbyterian," said Longwood head coach
Jon Atkinson. "They limited our opportunities and came away with a deserved result. It's effective football that wins out at this level and at this time of year. We couldn't get into a flow to turn the tables.
Five days after finishing with a career-high eight saves in the regular season finale win over Campbell, Longwood goalkeeper
Jacob Reimers finished with nine saves in Sunday's game on 21 Presbyterian shots.
Big South All-Freshman selection
Jeremy Jaquier and junior forward
Mikel Abando each finished with a team-high two shots.
Jan Hoffelner finished with a shutout performance, making three saves on nine Longwood shots.
Longwood's eight-man senior class –
Andreas Aderiye,
Cody Bell,
Ryan Fleming,
Josh Hanratty,
Daniel Marques,
Sherif Maalouf,
Denzel Speed, and
Willy Miezan – ended their careers leading the Lancers to three Big South Tournament appearances and the program's first-ever Big South Championship game appearance.
"I've enjoyed the growth of this team and know their potential is unlimited but today is more about the players that have closed their collegiate careers," Atkinson said. "Our seniors have been fantastic ambassadors for the school and have invested in the program fully. It's a tough way to end but once the dust settles, they can be proud of the work they've done and begin to realize their value is not in what they do but who they are. I can't thank our seniors and my support staff for a professional job throughout."
The Lancers deployed 20 players throughout the game with Hanratty and Reimers leading the way with 90 minutes, as Longwood started five of its freshmen in the game.
The youngest team in the Big South this season with five freshmen in its starting lineup throughout the campaign, Longwood will return 24 letterwinners next season, including All-Big South Honorable Mention selection and leading scorer
Markus Gronli along with Big South All-Freshman selection Jaquier.
"The gauntlet has been set to fill some big shoes and improve further – tournament appearances are just the tip of the iceberg of what we aim to do here," Atkinson said. "I'm eager to put together plans for next season."
#GoWood
