October 31, 2006

FARMVILLE, Va. -- The Longwood University women’s soccer team has earned the #2 seed from the East Division for this weekend’s United Soccer Conference (USC) Tournament, November 2-5, in Washington, D.C. hosted by Howard University. The Lancers, 11-5-2 overall, 2-1 in the USC, will play IPFW (4-11-1, 1-2), the #3 seed from the West Division, on Thursday, Nov. 2, at 5:30 p.m. in the third of four quarterfinal matches at Greene Stadium. Ironically, the Lancers lost to the defending champion Mastodons 1-0 in last year’s semifinals played at IPFW.

“With a larger tournament field this year (eight teams), I think it will be a greater challenge and reward for the eventual champion,” said 13th-year head coach Todd Dyer ‘93 (146-80-11). “The clash of various soccer cultures in the first round (East vs. West) should also make for a very entertaining event. All in all, we look forward to competing for a tournament title in our nation’s capital and we are grateful to Howard for hosting this occasion.”

Longwood enters the conference tournament with eight wins in the last 10 matches, outscoring the opposition 29-6, while the only two losses were by one-goal each. Overall, the Lancers have outscored their opponents 41-19 through 18 matches this fall while posting six shutouts. Longwood was 7-1-1 at home and 4-4-1 on the road this season, and will be playing its first neutral-site matches this weekend at the USC Tournament.

Senior Tiffany Crane/Virginia Beach (Kellam) has led the team in scoring with her seven goals and six assists for 20 points. She is followed in scoring by freshmen Kaylyn Mahon/Spring Grove, Pa. (Spring Grove) (6g, 2a, 14p), Sarah Fening/Manassas (Battlefield) (5g, 2a, 12p), and Colleen Thamm/Manassas (Battlefield) (5g, 2a, 12p), senior Anna Gravely/Virginia Beach (Frank W. Cox) (4g, 1a, 9p), freshman Tia Nardella/Brookline, Mass. (Brookline) (3g, 2a, 8p), and senior Vanessa Congdon/ Charlotte, N.C. (Charlotte Catholic) (3g, 1a, 7p). Junior keeper Anne Whitmore/Charlottesville (Western Albemarle) has started 16 contests while playing 1349 minutes in front of the net, allowing only 14 goals (0.93) with 77 saves (5.14) for an .846 save percentage and four shutouts.

The other quarterfinal matches include East #1 Delaware State (7-10, 3-0) versus West #4 Utah Valley State (6-10-1, 0-3) at 10 a.m., West #1 North Dakota State (11-6-1, 3-0) versus East #4 South Carolina State (3-14, 0-3) at 12:30 p.m., and West #2 South Dakota State (6-9-2, 2-1) versus East #3 Howard (1-15, 1-2) at 8 p.m.. The semifinal matches will be played at Howard on Friday, Nov. 3, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., while the USC Tournament Championship is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 5 at 1 p.m., also at Howard.

Longwood is a founding member of the United Soccer Conference, formed during the spring of 2004. The eight-member NCAA Division I single-sport, women’s soccer conference added North Dakota State and South Dakota State to the league prior to this year.