FARMVILLE, Va. – After ending last season with a Big South tournament loss to USC Upstate, the Lancers wasted no time in avenging that defeat.
 
The Longwood women's soccer team dominated USC Upstate in a 3-0 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Athletics Complex. Three different Lancers found the back of the net in a balanced Longwood attack, complemented by a smothering effort on defense. Kennedy Culbreath, Emilie Kupsov, and Madison Hommey all tallied goals as goalkeeper Madison Van Dyke and the Longwood defense kept a clean sheet.
 
"That's a program that ended our season last year, so we had a ton of respect for them coming into this game," said head coach Todd Dyer. "I thought we started pretty flat, but Kennedy's goal gave us a lift going into halftime. Kup smashed in the second goal to give us some breathing room and then Hommey iced it for us. Our backline and keeper were rock solid and the shutout was a good reward for their performance. Now we get ready for Campbell who's playing some of the best soccer in the league right now."
 
In total, the Lancers outshot the Spartans 21-7, as they were able to maintain pressure on the Upstate defense throughout the match. 13 different Lancers recorded a shot, with four attempting multiple.
 
The shutout was Van Dyke's fourth of the season, as she continues her strong play in net for the Lancers. Entering third in the Big South in goals allowed, the Lancer defense proved they are a strong defensive team again today thanks to excellent play by the backline of Taylor Alvey, Erica Sieben, Carrie Reaver, and Kiersten Yuhas, who helped hold Upstate to just two shots on goal both of which were saved by Van Dyke.
 
"I think that we brought energy consistently through the game that we haven't been doing too much," said Hommey. "Especially in the second half, I think we carried out the things that we talked about doing, such as winning balls in the air, being dangerous offensively, and being solid in the back, which is something we have been doing well lately. I think that we are continuing to show the effort that we put into that."
 
Kennedy Culbreath opened the scoring for Longwood in the first half. Kaitlyn Cox played a perfect ball from the midfield, and Culbreath was able to run onto it behind the defense and power a shot past Spartan goalkeeper Logan Pace to give the Lancers an early 1-0 lead.
 
Early in the second half, Emile Kupsov collected the ball on the edge of the box and fired it to the lower-left corner of the goal to double Longwood's lead to 2-0. Hommey's goal in the 87^th minute capped the win for the Lancers, as she let loose a powerful shot from outside the box to tally her first goal of the season.
 
Up next for the Lancers is a home match against Campbell on Wednesday, Oct. 16. The opening kick is set for 7 p.m.
 
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