Longwood University Athletics

FARMVILLE, Va. – There are shutouts, and then there are shutdowns.
 
Behind an objectively stifling performance from Longwood's midfield and backline, the Lancers (7-8, 2-2 MAC) did the latter to Saint Louis Tuesday afternoon by holding the Billikens without a shot in a 2-0 victory at Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field.
 
The Lancers held Saint Louis (0-14) without a scoring attempt or penalty corner for the entire 60 minutes of regulation and rewarded the frontline with a pair of quick-strike goals from Karly Harwood and Floor Schouten during a 31-second span in the third quarter.

"It was a pretty solid performance from us," said head coach Iain Byers. "We controlled large portions of the game. They are a very tenacious team that fought the whole game, so we are proud of our ability to keep a clean sheet and really limit their attacking opportunities. We look forward to the Ball State game on Friday."
 
Harwood's goal was a redirect of Briana Greene's shot from just inside the arc and stood as the game-winner, while Schouten's came off a rebound of Harwood's shot 31 seconds later.

"There was definitely an opportunity for a forward to step up this year, and I really wanted to be a leader on this team, not just on the field but energy wise," said Harwood, who extended her career high in goals to eight. "We worked a lot this year to not have a single person be a star, but to work the ball around into the best player-to-space ratio and having the most open and available person shooting which I think has raised our success rate in scoring."
 
The zero-shot performance was Longwood's first of the Division I era, besting the one shot the Lancers allowed Towson in a 2-0 season-opening win on August 26, 2019. It was also senior goalkeeper Katie Wyman's 15th career clean sheet and her career-high sixth this season.
 
That backfield effort was led by the starting defensive trio of Luna Lopez, Clara Meschini and Rio Weber and the midfield tandem of Greene, Sophia Loscher and Charlotte Wilm. Those six kept Saint Louis well outside of Longwood's arc and aided in the Lancers' 25-0 shot advantage.

"This past weekend, we realized there were a lot of things that we had to work on, and we really wanted to step up this game," added Harwood. "Our goal was to not let them into our twenty five yard-line, and I think they entered just two, maybe three times and entered the arc just once without a shot. Our defensive unit is really strong this year and Katie Wyman in the back is a great communicator, telling us what we need to be doing and where we need to be stepping."

The Lancers will wrap up their home slate on Friday, Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. against MAC-foe Ball State. The game will also be senior night Longwood's graduating class.
 
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