WASHINGTON D.C. – A little grit and perseverance went a long way on Wednesday afternoon for Longwood men's soccer. The Lancers (5-4-1) rallied past George Washington (2-9-4) to erase a one-goal deficit in a 2-1 win.
 
Miles Cooper exemplified that effort by scoring the game winner in the 78^th minute after winning a tackle in the midfield. He refused to stop and willed his way forward, scoring his first collegiate goal in the process.
 
SCORING:
 
               1             2             FINAL
LWU      0             2             2
GWU     0             1             1
 
52' | GWU: Joe Liebe (1), assist Sean Vaghedi, Nacho Alastuey
54' | LWU: Ethan Stevenson (2), assist Ben Wilkinson
78' | LWU: Miles Cooper
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
In the first half, neither side could break through a determined defensive front in a physical contest. The Lancers managed the game well, and the Longwood back line was rugged to keep the game scoreless at halftime.
 
While George Washington's Joe Liebe broke through in the 52^nd minute, the Lancers stormed back in a hurry.
 
Less than two minutes later, Longwood earned a corner kick. GWU's back line turned the initial attempt aside, but Ben Wilkinson hustled to track it down and serve it back into the 18. He found Ethan Stevenson on the back post, and Stevenson ripped home a shot that was too hot to handle to even the score. It was his second goal of the season, and both have come in Longwood's past three matches.
 
In the 78^th minute, hustle again paid dividends for the Lancers. This time, Cooper swiped the ball near the midline, and he raced forward. The senior evaded one defender and tacked past another before nipping a ball to the back post from the top of the 18 for a 2-1 lead.
 
From that point on, the Lancers stood firm defensively. George Washington only had one shot the rest of the way as the Lancer back line preserved the one goal lead.

WHAT THEY SAID:

"There are no gimmes at this level, and you have to earn every result, which we did today," said Longwood Head Coach Jon Atkinson. "We may have felt a little unjust with results in our last two outings, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu when GWU knocked one in. But credit the lads, they responded quick and never wavered in their commitment to the cause and got their deserved return in the end. It's imperative we translate this to conference come Saturday."
 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood stays on the road with a trip to Radford on Saturday. The match is slated for 2 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.
 
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