FARMVILLE, Va. – Sometimes lessons come the hard way. And despite enduring a three-game slump, Longwood's men's soccer team showed Tuesday night they've picked up a few things along the way.
 
After suffering three straight losses by a combined four goals, the Lancers (4-4-0, 0-1-0 Big South) broke through late and held off an end-game charge to come out on the right side of a nail-biter and topple Commonwealth rival George Mason 2-0 at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
 
With junior goalkeeper Jacob Reimers and the Longwood backline holding strong, Paul Caspar and Ander Etxaniz hooked up for a long-range go-ahead goal in the 59th minute, and senior Mikel Abando stuck the nail in the coffin with a breakaway strike with just 45 seconds remaining. That final strike from Abando derailed George Mason's late-game surge, during which they got off five shots and drew three close-range fouls in the game's final 10 minutes.
 
The win snapped a three-game losing streak during which the Lancers dropped a pair of one-goal losses to No. 20 James Madison, 1-0, and Navy, 2-1, and a 3-1 road defeat at Big South foe Gardner-Webb.
 
It was also Longwood's first-ever victory over the Patriots (2-7-1), who finished the 2018 season as the Atlantic 10 runners-up after reaching the league title game.
 
"We controlled big parts of the game, but we were a little bit concerned as it went on where the goals would come from," said Longwood head coach Jon Atkinson. "Anytime you leave yourself nil-nil, you're at the mercy of something – a mistake, a transition moment, which George Mason's capable doing. I'm happy the goal went in. It was a quality delivery from Paul and a great finish from Ander. That's something we've worked on."
 
That go-ahead goal saw Caspar lift a long-range cross into George Mason's box to the opposite post where Etxaniz muscled his way into a mob and headed it in for his fifth goal of the season. It was a 59th-minute strike that broke open a scoreless game and abated memories of Longwood's last home game in which No. 20 James Madison scored with just 25 seconds left in regulation to steal a 1-0 win.
 
And in line with lessons learned, Atkinson noted his team still has much to work on despite the narrow win.
 
"After the goal, we should have kept on and built a platform to finish off the game," he said. "That's probably the most disappointing part, that we didn't scuff it out, we didn't execute, we gave away some fouls, and we became more desperate than we needed to be."
 
After that strike, the Patriots flipped the field and uncorked nine of their 16 shots, including three in the game's final three minutes. However, Reimers and Longwood's backfield held their ground with Longwood's junior keeper racking up six saves and disrupting multiple passes into the box during that furious final rally.
 
Abando then broke the tension almost entirely on his own when he chased down a long pass on a half-field sprint, put on the brakes inside George Mason's box and fired a left-footed rocket into the upper left corner of the Patriot goal. The strike was Abando's fifth of the season, negating Etxaniz's temporary hold on the team scoring lead, and came with just 45 seconds left on the clock.
 
"It's good we weathered the storm and got the results, and it's something to grow on," Atkinson said. "We have a long buildup to Presbyterian, and we'll be able to do that after righting the ship a bit and getting back to .500."
 
Longwood's next matchup will keep them in Farmville, for a return to Big South action against Presbyterian. That Oct. 5 matchup will kick off at 2 p.m. and give the Lancers a shot at redemption after Gardner-Webb pulled away late for a 3-1 win in the Big South opener on Sept. 28.
 
"It helps watching video and being able to see some positivity on the field," Atkinson said. "It helps going into practice knowing you're winners. It feels good, but it is just a feeling.
 
"But the real value is in knowing these guys every day are showing up to work and putting in 100 percent regardless of the results. We have some very good guys right now who have potential, and it's our job as coaches to help them reach that."
 
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