FARMVILLE, Va. – Six games into his collegiate career, Longwood freshman forward Luis Ortner was still looking for his first career goal.
Less than 10 minutes into the second half Saturday against UNC Asheville, he was celebrating his third.
Powered by Ortner's hat trick, two assists apiece from Josh Fordyce and Markus Gronli, and a first-half scoring surge that saw the Lancers (2-4-1, 1-0-0 Big South) score three times in three minutes, Longwood cruised past UNC Asheville 6-1 in the Big South opener Saturday afternoon at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
"Luis is a pure finisher finisher," Longwood head coach Jon Atkinson said. "You want the ball in the right area, and Luis will finish. And tonight was a prime example."
"Scoring that first collegiate goal, that's the greatest feeling," Ortner said. "I really wanted to score a goal, and now I've got three. That's amazing."
In their highest-scoring game since a 6-2 win over Campbell on Oct. 16, 2016, the Lancers controlled the game from whistle to whistle and rode that opening onslaught to fourth win in five matches against the Bulldogs (1-6, 0-1-0 Big South). Gronli set the tone and scored the first of those goals on a pass from his fellow senior Fordyce, and Ortner followed up with Longwood's next two in a span of just 42 seconds. His first came on a pretty tic-tac-toe sequence from Fordyce and fellow freshman Matt Fitzer while Gronli touched a pinpoint pass to him for the second.
"I think our guys were dialed in from the start, you know," Atkinson said. "We've challenged ourselves in practice, and it's been a long time in coming as we well know. But today it clicked. I think there was more purpose in our possession, and the opportunities that fell, fell to the right people at the right time."
By halftime, Longwood had scored on four of its nine shots, with defender Dan Ahrens even getting in on the action with his first career goal on a 31st-minute header that finished off a well-placed chip into the box from Gronli, who was again a force as part of a dynamic, fluid attack that was clinical in its approach.
"We get that chemistry from practice," Ortner said. "After a couple of games and practice sessions, we know each other better. We know what the other guys are doing, and it comes from practice. We do a lot of stuff and then switch it into the game."
"Gronli's a game changer," Atkinson said. "He's one of those irreplaceable players. I think there's times today where we heavily leaned on Markus, and good things come through him. However, there's other opportunities for other people to shine, which we saw glimpses of today as well. I thought Markus is having a hell of a start to the season. We can't just be solely relying on him, but when he shines, we are very glad."
That dominance spanned both sides of the field as graduate goalkeeper Jacob Reimers tallied five saves and kept the Bulldogs off the board until the final 6 minutes. Reimers and a veteran defensive unit led by Ahrens, Ander Etxaniz and Jonas Kalchner limited UNC Asheville to six shots through the first 80 minutes while the offense ripped off goal after goal.
Ortner polished off the hat trick early in the second half, extending the lead to 5-0 by burying a feed from Ben Wilkinson on the back post in the 53rd minute.
After UNC Asheville's Jarron James put home a late goal, James Manns responded with his first collegiate goal for the Lancers. The sophomore roared up the field and eluded defenders to cap the scoring in the 88th minute as Longwood hosts N.C. State on Tuesday.
"N.C. State's going to be a whole different kettle of fish for sure," Atkinson said. You know, we'll probably look to give us a great performance together. Might change one or two personnel just to kind of keep them fresh and ready for conference, but make no bones about it, we've got to take that game very seriously on Tuesday. N.C. State are a very caliber team."
Tuesday's match against the Wolfpack kicks off at 7 p.m. and is part of a stretch that sees Longwood play three of four at home, with the Lancers traveling to USC Upstate on Oct. 2 before coming back to host Winthrop and High Point Oct. 6 and 9 respectively. All three home matches will be aired on ESPN+.
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