FARMVILLE, Va. — Junior Simao Coelho collected a bouncing ball, dribbled through the Radford defense and slid it home to knot the match, 2-2, for the Longwood men's soccer team to secure a draw on Saturday.
The goal, Coelho's fifth of the season, ensured the Lancers' first Big South Conference tournament appearance since the 2021 season. Longwood next travels to fourth-seeded UNC Asheville for a first-round matchup with the Bulldogs Wednesday at 6 p.m.
"I thought they did a really good job," said Longwood head coach Paul Gilbert. "Mixed emotions with the match in general just because I felt like we created enough chances we didn't concede a whole lot of chances and Probably felt we should have finished a few more and maybe not have given away one that we did but that's football, right?
"You cannot take your chances and give away a couple counterattacks, and there you go, that's how you get a 2-2 draw."
The Lancers (4-9-3, 2-4-1 Big South), who received a goal and assists from Coelho, were forced to battle back from a 2-1 deficit in the second half against the winless Highlanders (0-13-3, 0-5-2) after Radford earned a 2-1 lead with goals five minutes apart early in the second half.
Cesar Rubio Amaya and Amos Tajtyi linked up for both Radford goals. Rubio Amaya took a pass from Tajtyi in the 54th minute to knot the match, 1-1, before Tajtyi gave the visitors the lead from Rubio Amaya in the 59th.
It marked just the third time this season Radford — who held the lead for 12 minutes before the Coelho winner — scored multiple goals in a match.
The Lancers finally broke through with the opening goal of the day in the 35th minute, finishing off a tic-tac-toe play between Ethan Stevenson, Coelho and sophomore Aristhid Kamdjin. Coelho's service from the right flank found the head of Stevenson, who directed the ball down and past Radford goalkeeper Alex Eydelman (seven saves), extending his team lead in goals with 10.
Up to that point, Longwood junior goalie Max Hinke kept the match level with four saves, while the Lancers twice hit the woodwork.
Hinke earned the victory in the nets for Longwood finishing with five saves.
Prior to kickoff, Longwood honored its five seniors — Valentin Brandis, Iago Rodriguez, Stevenson, Anthony Vargas and Diego Vargas.
"For us, we are who we are at this point," Gilbert said. "And so we know each other fairly well. And,we don't change a whole lot. And just go prepare like we would for any other game. And hopefully we can get a result."
