Longwood Battles Eastern Kentucky To 1-1 Double-Overtime Tie

October 22, 2011
FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University battled visiting Eastern Kentucky University of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) to a double-overtime 1-1 tie Friday on Senior Night at the Athletics Complex in Farmville. Senior captain Kacie Oliver|Portsmouth, R.I. (Portsmouth) scored the goal for the Lancers (6-6-4) in the 51st minute, assisted by sophomore Kelsey Pardue|Henrico (Hermitage), while Nicole Donnelly scored for the Colonels (6-8-3) in the 86th minute. Longwood will play again on Sunday afternoon, October 23, back on the road at Morehead State University of the OVC in Morehead, Kentucky beginning at 1 p.m. Longwood and Eastern Kentucky were scoreless at the intermission, though the Lancers controlled much of the first half with a 4-1 edge in shots. Longwood continued its momentum early in the second half and Oliver gave the hosts a 1-0 lead at 50:42 when she received a nice pass from Pardue in transition and was one-on-one against the keeper, beating the keeper with her shot to the back right of the net. The Colonels, however, responded and took control on their offensive end of the field with numerous scoring attempts over the final 35 minutes of regulation before finally tying the match at 85:55 when Donnelly took a shot from deep in the right corner that made its way over the keeper’s head and into the net for the equalizer. EKU managed another scoring attempt at the final horn that was saved by an LU defender to send the contest into the extra periods. Eastern Kentucky had four shots during the first 10-minute OT, and fortunately junior keeper Kyra Byron|Richmond (Mills E. Godwin) stopped the three attempts on goal. Junior captain Lindsey Ottavio|Fairfax (W.T. Woodson) had a good shot in the final seconds of the period that was saved by Colonel keeper Annie Wickett, and Longwood had three more scoring attempts in the second OT -- two saved and another blocked, before EKU managed two late attempts with one stopped and the final shot going high with only a second remaining. The Colonels enjoyed an 18-6 advantage in shots after falling behind 1-0 early in the second half. “We would have liked to get a win for our seniors tonight, but a hard fought tie against an EKU team that gave us a lot of trouble will just have to do for now,” said veteran 18th-year head coach Todd Dyer ‘93. “I think everyone was just so emotionally invested in the occasion (Senior Night), that it put us off a little bit in terms of our technique on the ball and overall possession. Still, we created some really good scoring chances that just didn''t quite work out for us. If they had, especially early, I think we would have settled in a bit and been better off over the course of 90 minutes. And with the season we''ve had, of course it had to go into overtime. However, the 1-1 result did ensure that this senior class earned a winning record on our home field and that means a great deal.” Eastern Kentucky took a 19-12 advantage in shots, including 10-8 in attempts on-goal, and the Colonels had a 13-4 edge in corner kicks. Pardue registered four shots, two on-goal, and Ottavio had two shots, both on-goal to lead Longwood. Byron played the duration for the Lancers, tying her season-high with eight saves, and there was the team stop as well for the hosts. Donnelly had five shots, two on-goal to lead Eastern Kentucky, while Devon Saini added four shots, two on-goal as well. Wickett played the duration for the Colonels with seven saves. Longwood and EKU were playing for the second time in the sport of women’s soccer as the young series stands at 1-0-1 in favor of the Lancers who won last year’s match in Kentucky 1-0. Longwood recognized its eight senior team members during pre-game ceromonies, including Katie Devlin|Fairfax (W.T. Woodson), Alex Myers|Stafford (Colonial Forge), Alecia McConnell|Carlisle, Pa. (Carlisle), Kristen McGough|Florence, Ala. (Stony Point, Texas), Kacie Oliver, Dylan Spicker|Sherman Oaks, Calif. (Hickory, Va.), Mackenzie King|Stafford (North Stafford), and Soraya Serra|Round Hill, Va. (Loudoun Valley), along with two-year team manager Caitlin Newton|Leesburg. During the last five years that members of this class have been a part of this program, Longwood has attained a winning record of 46-38-8 (.543).
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