FARMVILLE, Va. – Sometimes, goals take a little grit and guts. Tuesday night, Longwood women's soccer used grit and guts to power a second-half explosion for a 3-0 win over Hampton.
After staring down a scoreless first half, the Lancers (1-6-1) roared out of the gates after halftime, and
Karleigh Minson broke the seal on the goal less than five minutes into the second half. From that point on, Longwood stayed in almost total command of the game, adding goals from both
Sydney Robertson and
Peyton Curney.
SCORE:
| |
1 |
2 |
FINAL |
| HAM |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| LWU |
0 |
3 |
3 |
50' | LWU—
Karleigh Minson (1), assist
Victoria Drake
56' | LWU—
Sydney Robertson (1), assist
Meghan Piazza
68' | LWU—
Peyton Curney (1), assist
Amanda Arnone
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Lancer started strong and owned the ball, a habit they kept up throughout the match. Longwood piled up 12 shots, including five on target in the first half, but the back of the net proved elusive for the Lancers.
Longwood's best chances came on corner kicks, with multiple opportunities pinballing around inside the six-yard box before Hampton (1-4-1) wiggled out of trouble each time.
After halftime, the Lancers had renewed life. Again, the team controlled the ball, but this time the incisive runs and moves started to pay dividends.
In the 50
th minute,
Victoria Drake beat her defender on the right flank and played a wonderful cross into the six-yard box. Minson was there and clipped it to the back post for her first collegiate goal as she was swarmed by her teammates.
A scant more than five minutes later,
Meghan Piazza whipped a corner kick in, and
Sydney Robertson bodied it forward for her first collegiate goal and a 2-0 lead.
Peyton Curney wrapped up the scoring in the 68
th minute off a free kick.
Amanda Arnone muscled it from midfield straight into the box, and Curney tapped it home after it slithered through multiple bodies to make it 3-0.
Meanwhile, the Lancer back line combined to pitch a shutout. The back three of Arnone, Robertson and
Emma Jones swept aside a variety of Hampton counterattacks.
Sara Curtis also made a pair of high caliber saves in goal. The first came on a breakaway to rob Hampton's Aileen Perez of an opportunity, and the second came on a Hampton corner that Curtis saved off the line.
Down the stretch, Longwood managed the game to see the win through.
The Lancers outshot Hampton 25-5 and outcornered Hampton 8-3.
WHAT THEY SAID:
"We created a lot of chances in the first half but didn't have anything to show for it," said Longwood Head Coach
Todd Dyer. "In all honesty, we were pretty sloppy and weren't competing with any real passion or bite. But this group showed a great reaction coming out for the second half and was rewarded with three goals, a shutout and our first win of the season. Time for a quick recovery because we'll be back out there again in less than 48 hours."
UP NEXT:
Longwood stays home to host Howard on Thursday night at 6 p.m. The match will air on ESPN+.
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