FARMVILLE, Va. – With a bevy of fresh faces, the Longwood men's soccer team kicked off its 2019 season Saturday night at the Athletics Complex with a 0-0 draw against VCU in the first of three exhibition contests.
 
Head coach Jon Atkinson's squad battled the Rams in a 90-minute scrimmage that saw the Lancers deploy 24 players and outshoot a VCU team that's coming off a 10-win season and a trip to the A-10 semifinals.
 
"This was a great exercise for our team to use this game as a benchmark in order to see where we are and where we need to go," said Longwood head coach Jon Atkinson. "We still have a long ways to go. We've only been training for a short time and the areas in which we worked on, we exhibited very well tonight. We emptied our bench and a lot of guys showed a lot of promise."
 
Longwood controlled possession throughout a game that featured three 30-minute periods while generating more opportunities.
 
The game came just three days following the start of preseason practice and will be the first of three exhibition games for the Lancers. The second of those games will come Wednesday, Aug. 21, as Longwood hosts Mary Washington in a 7 p.m. kickoff.
 
"We're need to head back to the training field," Atkinson said. "We'll dissect Mary Washington. They're a caliber team and they'll provide a different challenge for us."
 
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