FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood goalkeeper Madison Van Dyke broke the school's Division I single-game saves record, but Charlotte's offensive onslaught scored twice to send the 49ers to a 2-0 victory Friday afternoon at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
 
Playing in front of a crowd of more than 1,500 Longwood fans that trekked more than a mile through Farmville to attend the contest as part of the school's Greatest Athletics March Ever (G.A.M.E.) event, Van Dyke turned away 13 shots to break her former teammate Maria Kirby's thrice-set D-I era record of 11 saves.
 
Van Dyke's fellow Longwood defenders saved two more to give Longwood (0-2-0) a D-I era record 15 saves as a team for the game, but Charlotte's high-volume approach proved insurmountable.
 
The 49ers (2-0-0) got a go-ahead goal early in the first half from Julia Grainda, whose breakaway strike put Charlotte on top 1-0 in the seventh minute. That was the second goal and second game-winner of the year for the All-Conference USA forward, who chased down a long pass from fellow All-CUSA teammate Megan Greene, corralled it behind Longwood's back line and then snuck it past Van Dyke for a 1-0 lead.
 
Van Dyke responded by saving the next 10 shots she faced, but Riley Orr broke through again midway through the second half on a free kick to extend the lead to 2-0 where it stood until the final whistle.
 
"I thought we played hard and competed for 90 minutes tonight," said head coach Todd Dyer. "That type of effort will keep us in games. Now we have to do a better job dealing with pressure, keeping the ball and creating chances for ourselves. Mentally we are still in it, so I'm sure we will continue to grow from nights and results like this."
 
With the win, Charlotte teamed up with Atlantic 10 powerhouse VCU to become the first teams to deal Longwood back-to-back losses since Sept. 4 and 8, 2016, when Youngstown State and American beat Longwood in succession. That Lancer team – whose then-freshmen are now seniors – responded by rattling off a 7-4-1 record the rest of the way and making a run to the semifinals of the 2016 Big South Championship.
 
However, the Lancers were unable to generate that comeback fuel Friday against an impermeable Charlotte midfield and backfield that gave up just seven shots on the night. The 49ers allowed only two of those on target, providing goalkeeper Abby Stapleton a smooth road to her second straight shutout.
 
Through its first two performances of the season, the 49er backfield has now allowed just four shots on goal in wins over Longwood and Akron.
 
"We're not going to get anything out of playing a schedule that's not competitive," said junior defender Carrie Reaver. "Playing good teams that are going to be physical and possess the ball around us, that's going to challenge us and make us read the game faster."
 
So far Longwood's gauntlet of a non-conference schedule has pitted them against a pair of teams from the Atlantic 10 – Richmond and VCU – as well as Conference USA foe Charlotte. The Lancers held a 1-0 lead at Richmond in the season opener before lightning and rain forced the teams to cancel the game at halftime. VCU, meanwhile, flexed its A-10 prowess in a 5-1 win on Longwood's home field, and Charlotte followed with Friday's 2-0 result.
 
Longwood's schedule gets no easier moving forward with a matchup against SWAC powerhouse Howard this Monday, Sept. 2, at 6 p.m., followed by back-to-back road trips to Old Dominion and Coastal Carolina.
 
"I do think we competed a lot more in the game, worked for each other a lot more, and we came out a lot better than we did against VCU," Reaver said. "So there's still a lot to improve on and a lot that we're missing, but we're definitely building."
 
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