FARMVILLE, Va. – Big South frontrunner High Point entered Wednesday night's matchup against Longwood unbeaten in the conference. Following a 110-minute battle, the Lancers couldn't deal the Panthers that first defeat but they got closer than anyone else.  
 
Behind a defensive-minded performance that Longwood head coach Todd Dyer called a "tactical masterpiece," Longwood (6-7-2, 4-3-2 Big South) battled the Big South No. 1 to a scoreless double-overtime draw at the Longwood Athletics Complex to become only the second conference team to survive the high-powered Panthers (9-6-2, 8-0-2) this season.
 
Led by multiple marathon performances from 110-minute ironwomen Taylor Alvey, Tori Gagliardi, Madison Hommey, Madison Lockamy, Erica Sieben and Kiersten Yuhas, Longwood handed High Point its first Big South shutout of the season. The Panthers entered the game as the Big South's No. 2 scoring team but managed to put just five shots on goal against Longwood's backfield unit, all of which junior goalkeeper Madison Van Dyke saved.
 
"We did very well tactically tonight, especially dropping back defensively," said Van Dyke, whose shutout was her fifth of the season and Longwood's seventh as a team.
 
"We had our chances offensively, no doubt about that, but we were really solid on the back side. Especially with Carrie [Reaver] out, Tori and everyone stepped up really well. High Point was able to pass the ball through us, but they could never break us down. They kept trying to dump the ball over top of us, but our defenders handled it well."
 
With their defensive anchor Reaver sidelined, the Lancers still held strong against High Point's towering lineup and engaged in a four-period possession battle that took place largely in the midfield. The bak-and-forth battle saw just eight shots in the first half – just three on goal – before both teams opened up after halftime.
 
However, Van Dyke and the Lancer backfield stepped up to match the Panthers repeatedly, including late in the second half when Van Dyke made a diving save on a line drive shot from Alex Palmer and again in the closing minutes of the second half when High Point mounted an end-game flurry in an attempt to squeeze out a win.
 
"You always want to win on Senior Night, but at least we were able to honor such a special group with our collective effort tonight," Dyer said. "High Point finished at the top of the league this year, and deservedly so. We showed a lot of patience and discipline on the defensive side of the ball, and we were able to keep the ball at times and get a few decent looks at goal.
 
"We need that level of commitment, energy and concentration regardless of who we're playing as we finish out the regular season and get into tournament play."
 
Offensively the Lancers leaned on senior Emilie Kupsov to speadhead the attack, and the senior responded with two of Longwood's four shots on goal while also opening up several opportunities for her fellow forward. However, High Point goalkeeper Talia Klimes found herself well-positioned on all four of Longwood's shots on goal and corralled each one to secure the Panthers' Big South-leading sixth conference shutout of the year.
 
The draw secures the outright Big South Regular Season Championship for High Point while guaranteeing Longwood at least a sixth-place finish.
 
Now with a spot in the eight-team Big South Championship bracket in hand, the Lancers will have one more shot at padding their seeding this Saturday when they travel to Gardner-Webb for the regular-season finale. After that, the postseason commences with the quarterfinals at campus sites on Nov. 1-2.
 
As for Longwood's mentality heading into that upcoming seven-day swing, Van Dyke summarized it concisely.
 
"Get a win. Make it to the championship."
 
#GoWood