RADFORD, Va. – One of the hottest teams in the Big South vaulted a preseason favorite to continue its climb up the conference standings.
Playing on a home field on which they have yet to suffer a loss this season, the surging Radford Highlanders (6-2-1, 2-1-0 Big South) fought off a late Longwood surge to edge the preseason No. 2 Lancers 2-1 in a Commonwealth rivalry showdown Wednesday night at Cupp Stadium.
The win was the fifth in the past six games for the high-scoring Highlanders, who move into a tie for second place in the Big South.
Radford entered the night as the Big South's top scoring team and put that offense on display early, staking a 2-0 lead over the defensive-minded Lancers (2-5-3, 0-1-2 Big South) before halftime. Radford forward Nelia Perez scored the first of those just 6:34 into the game, and Big South goals leader Jessica Wollmann punched in a follow-up in the 22nd minute for her seventh goal of the season.
However, despite that early deficit, Longwood rallied to play its best soccer in the closing minutes and become only the second Big South team to score on the Highlanders this season.
"Our coaching staff has some more pride in our team right now than we have all season," said Longwood head coach
Todd Dyer. "This group stayed connected after a tough first half, fought to the very last second, and made a game of it. If we can put together a 90-minute performance with that level of urgency, we will be successful moving forward."
Longwood emptied the chamber in the final 10 minutes, firing seven shots and connecting on Miller's 82nd-minute strike that cut Radford's lead to 2-1. That goal came on a rebound from a
Kennedy Culbreath, giving Culbreath her second assist of the season and setting the do-it-all senior Miller for her first goal of the season.
However, the Highlanders (6-2-1, 2-1-0 Big South) survived that late onslaught, including a shot from All-Big South first team forward
Emilie Kupsov that hit the post with less than five minutes to play. Kupsov would manage one more crack at the Radford net, but the Highlander defense blocked that attempt with 29 seconds remaining and held on the rest of the way to secure the win.
Longwood outshot Radford 20-13 and put nine of those on goal, but Radford goalkeeper Courtenay Kaplan turned away eight of those in a stonewall effort that dropped her goals against average to 1.34, the lowest of any Big South goalkeeper with at least six games under their belt this season.
Kaplan was the latest goalkeeper to stymie Longwood's rapid-fire offense, holding to just one goal a Longwood offense that ranks third in the Big South with 15.0 shots per game. The Lancers have outshot three of their past four opponents but are just 0-2-2 during that span.
After back-to-back road games this past week, Longwood will get a chance to right the ship at home when Presbyterian comes to Farmville for a 2 p.m. showdown Saturday at the Longwood Athletics Complex. That game, part of a doubleheader with the men's soccer team following against Radford at 6 p.m., will welcome back nearly 100 Longwood women's soccer alumni for the program's milestone 25th anniversary celebration.
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