FARMVILLE, Va. - The Longwood University men’s soccer team tied Atlantic Soccer Conference (ASC) foe Adelphi University 0-0 in double overtime on Friday night at the Athletics Complex in Farmville. Junior goalkeeper Joel Helmick | Springfield (W.T. Woodson)  recorded four saves for the Lancers (1-9-3, 0-1-1 ASC) against the Panthers (6-5-1, 0-0-1 ASC). Longwood returns to action on Tuesday, October 19, when it hosts the United States Naval Academy at 7 p.m. at the Athletics Complex in Farmville. Admission is free.

“It was bizarre match, one that lacked rhythm throughout,” said sixth-year head coach Jon Atkinson. “We started well, then backed off as the first half went on. We regrouped at halftime, but could never finish in the final third of the field. Give credit to Adelphi, who fought a man down for most of the match to salvage a point in the conference standings.”

Longwood came out firing in the first half, led by freshman Matt Carey | Manassas (Osbourn Park) who launched a shot that was blocked just 0:22 into the match. Sophomore Vinnie Llana | Raleigh, N.C. (Broughton) followed with a pair of shots. Junior Zack Mahon | San Antonio, Texas (William Howard Taft) also launched a pair shots just minutes apart, the second one stopped by Adelphi’s Kyle Blackmer. The Panthers’ Alexander Kouznetsov was sent off with a red card in the 20th minute for a hard tackle from behind, giving Longwood the man-up advantage for the rest of the match. Adelphi put a ball in the net in the 43rd minute, but the Panthers were offsides on the play, negating the score. Sophomore Devin Pierce | Virginia Beach (Ocean Lakes) had a pair of shots go wide in the final two minutes of the first half as the two teams went in to halftime tied 0-0. The Lancers outshot Adelphi 8-3 in the first half.

Both teams focused on defense in the second half with limited scoring opportunities. Adelphi’s Dan Larenius hit a header but Helmick came up with the save to keep the score tied. Helmick came up big again in the 67th minute when he stopped his fourth shot of the night, this one by Henderson Hewes. The Lancers’ only shot of the second half came off the head of junior Cody Merkes | Chesapeake (Hickory) on a corner kick in the 77th minute, but was stopped by goalkeeper Thorne Holder.

Longwood outshot Adelphi 4-0 in the first overtime period, but only one shot was on target. In the second overtime, the Lancers played the final six minutes with a three-man advantage after a pair of Adelphi players were sent off in the 104th minute. The Lancers controlled the ball, but could only get one shot off during the final six minutes, ending the match in a 0-0 tie.

The Lancers outshot Adelphi 16-8 and had a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks. Helmick had four saves in the shutout while Longwood was led offensively by Mahon with five shots and Llana with four shots, including three shots on goal. Blackmer played in goal for Adelphi in the first half and recorded three saves while Holder made three saves in the final 65 minutes. The Panthers were led offensively by Mauricio Mora with two shots.