Scrimmage Sees Strong Performances From Culbreath & Van Dyke
Women's Soccer
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FARMVILLE, Va. – The Big South preseason No. 2 Longwood women's soccer took part in its final scrimmage of the preseason, squaring off against Commonwealth foe Old Dominion in a 115-minute exhibition Friday evening at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
During two regulation halves and a 25-minute extra period, Longwood deployed every available player on the roster, using 25 total including six freshmen. Among those, reigning Big South Defensive Player of the Year
Sydney Wallace, Freshman of the Year
Carrie Reaver and sophomore goalkeeper
Madison Van Dyke played all 90 minutes of the first two halves, while returning veterans
Annie Boros and
Kathryn Miller also put in 75 minutes worth of work.
Van Dyke, who also started Longwood's first scrimmage against VMI this past Monday, played the entirety of both halves in goal and racked up seven saves in 103 total minutes. Van Dyke, who backed up record-breaking All-Big South keeper
Maria Kirby as a freshman last season, made several of those saves in diving fashion and surrendered just one goal over her final 77 minutes in the net -- including 13 minutes in the extra period.
On the other end of the pitch, sophomore forward
Kennedy Culbreath scored Longwood's first goal of the preseason in impressive fashion, chasing down a long ball in an all-out sprint and beating ODU goalkeeper Jasmine Crawley for an uncontested finish. The 5-6 sophomore showcased her speed on the play, outrunning three Old Dominion defenders to set up a one-on-one Crawley, which Culbreath won with a touch to her right and finished with an easy tap-in on an open net.
The preseason test for the Lancers came against an Old Dominion team that is coming off a 9-5-4 season in which they went 6-2-2 in Conference USA play en route to a fifth-place conference finish. The Monarchs earned the No. 4 spot in the C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll.
Friday's game is Longwood's final preseason outing and sets the stage for the Lancers' upcoming season opener at Charlotte next Friday, Aug. 17. That game, which kicks off at 7 p.m., will official begin the milestone 25th season for Longwood women's soccer.
#GoWood
