FARMVILLE, Va. - In what came down to one goal separating red-hot Longwood from a third straight win, the Lancers took undefeated Navy to the wire but fell 2-1 Wednesday night at the Athletics Complex. 

Navy (6-0-0) entered the game one of just 10 remaining unbeaten teams in the nation and did enough to retain that moniker thanks to a pair of goals from leading scorer Jacob Williams and Nicko West. Longwood (3-2-0) initiated a comeback early in the second half on Mikel Abando's goal from Leif Vanslyke, but the Midshipmen held off the Lancers the rest of the way. 

Navy became only the second team to defeat Longwood this season, but the Lancers landed a parting gash by becoming only the second team to score against the Mids' vaunted defense this year. That second-half strike from Vanslyke to Abando added to Longwood's record scoring pace as the Lancers' 12th goal of the season, a mark that had Longwood ranked in the NCAA's top 10 scoring offenses heading into Wednesday.

"We settled down, but unfortunately we got stung with two quick goals that were avoidable," said head coach Jon Atkinson. "Giving a good team like that a head start is not helpful. Getting into halftime allowed us to shake our heads and realize we are better than what we are showing at times. I think the football was in us—it's just being able to compress the game well and move the ball when we have it with good confidence."

Lancer goalkeeper Jacob Reimers was outstanding, making six saves including a sprawling stop a penalty kick in the first half. He was aided by strong defensive play from Jonas Kalchner, Dan Ahrens, AJ Kmeic, Leif Vanslyke, and Chase Quinn, who all managed to limit the early damage to allow the Lancers to make a second half run.

"I think we slept in the first half and didn't play well," said Kalchner. "We played a lot better in the second half and got our goal, but missed our opportunities to score another one."

Navy had allowed just one goal all season coming into the match until Abando got on the end of a beautiful pass from Leif Vanslyke to get the Lancers on the board. Midshipmen goalkeeper Ian Bramblett matched him on the other end with four saves on the night to hold off a late Longwood rally for the win.

"This team has a bunch of heart, and I think they are growing with every game—this was their first real test that I feel allowed us to mature," said Atkinson, whose team remains above .500 while navigating a challenging out of conference schedule as the team approaches Big South conference play. The Lancers' lone two defeats this season came against a pair of teams with a combined record of 10-1-1 in NC State and Navy.

Jacob Williams opened the scoring for the Midshipmen in the 15^th minute when he finished a pass across the box from teammate Diego Manrique to make it 1-0. Manrique notched his second assist of the night when he played a perfect ball over the top of Longwood's defense for teammate Nicko West, who was able to put it away for a 2-0 lead.

Abando's second half goal was his fourth of the season, as the Lancers were able to get within one goal at the 50^th minute mark. Longwood had chances to tie it late, but were held at bay long enough for time to run out as Navy remained unbeaten in the young season.

The Lancers will be in action next when they host James Madison on Tuesday, Sept. 24. The game is set to kick-off at 7 p.m.

#GoWood​