ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The Longwood women's soccer team handed UNC Asheville its first Big South Conference loss of the season Friday, ending the Bulldogs' six-match winning streak with a 1-0 victory at Greenwood Field.
Madison Fitzpatrick scored in the 53rd minute, and goalkeeper Brynn Clagett made six saves as the Lancers recorded their third consecutive shutout victory. It marks the first time since 2024 Longwood has posted three straight clean sheets.
The win improved Longwood to 6-6-2 overall and 3-2-0 in the league, while UNC Asheville fell to 7-4-3 and 4-1-0 in the Big South.
After a scoreless first half, Fitzpatrick broke through with 52:24 on the clock. Sam Fischer and Peyton Curney assisted on the goal, which proved to be the difference in the match.
On the play, Ella Searcey found the ball in the center of the pitch and connected with Curney wide on the far side. Curney then looped the ball forward for Fischer, who picked out Fitzpatrick. The graduate student native of Nokesville, Va., then slid a shot along the turf, past a diving Asheville goalkeeper London Phoenix, for her team-leading third goal of the season.
Less than 10 minutes later, Clagett thwarted a Bulldogs' penalty kick, diving to the left to parry the attempt by Lilly Graumann. Asheville was awarded a second penalty in the 86th minute, but Campbell Stoll blasted it over the crossbar as Clagett and the Longwood defense then held off the Bulldogs to preserve the shutout.
"I don't know if you could ask for more drama during a game," Longwood head coach Todd Dyer said. "After a tight first half, things got crazy in the second half. After weathering some early pressure, we found a way to get that critical first goal. Both teams threatened after that, but ultimately, we had to survive two penalty kicks. Brynn stood on her head making that first critical save and we were just fortunate on the second. That Asheville team came into the game at the top of the table for a reason and it took everything we had to come out of here with a win. Well worth the effort and I love this for our players."
UNC Asheville finished with a 19-14 advantage in shots and a 6-4 edge in shots on goal.
Longwood returns to action Wednesday when it hosts Radford in another Big South matchup at 6 p.m., on ESPN+.
