HIGH POINT, N.C. – Longwood women's soccer opened conference play on Wednesday night at High Point, but the final score, a 2-0 High Point (4-4-2, 1-0 Big South) win, didn't tell the full story.
Longwood (1-8-2, 0-1 Big South) never went away, but High Point scored once in each half to turn aside the Lancers on a soggy night on the turf at High Point.
| SCORE |
1 |
2 |
FINAL |
| LWU |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| HPU |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2' | HPU—Own Goal by LWU
71' | HPU—Courtney Andruczk, assist Ally Ruiz
HOW IT HAPPENED:
High Point started strong and aggressively pressured Longwood, which lead to an early goal. A cross came across the box and took an unfortunate bounce off a Longwood defender into the goal for a 1-0 High Point lead.
However, the Lancers found their footing, and they were the side that created multiple scoring chances midway through the first half.
Sydney Robertson and
Victoria Drake each forced the High Point goalkeeper, Aubrey McKessy, to make saves, and Longwood had three shots on target in the opening 45 minutes to High Point's two.
After halftime, Longwood again was the aggressor, but ultimately couldn't find the equalizer while controlling the pace of play. Again, the Lancers found ways to put the ball in dangerous places, but the final touch was elusive.
High Point's Courtney Andruczk ultimately put the match out of reach. She headed home a cross from Ally Ruiz that deflected home off a sprawling
Sara Curtis, who nearly turned it aside. Curtis made a quartet of nice saves in the match for the Lancers.
WHAT THEY SAID:
"We put ourselves in a hole in the first 90 seconds of the game conceding off our own set piece in the front half of the field," said Longwood Head Coach
Todd Dyer. "At that point, all the pressure was on us to fight our way back into the game. That's tough against really good teams, especially on the road. We showed some fight, but it just wasn't good enough tonight. All that matters now is that we respond and put in a good performance at home on Saturday."
UP NEXT:
Longwood returns home to host Gardner-Webb on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m., and the match will stream on ESPN+.
#GoWood #HorsePower
