It took three games, but the Longwood University men’s soccer team scored their first goal and secured their first win on Sunday at the Athletics Complex in Farmville with a 3-1 win over Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).
Three different players got on the board as the Lancers (1-1-1) got off to a flying start in the tenth minute when Anthony Ugorji scored off his own rebound past Jaguars keeper Eduardo Cortes. Longwood ended the first half and started the second with goals as well; Mike Durr scored via a Daena Bodie assist with 3:01 to go in the opening stanza, and Zach Crandall finished from 30 yards out 59 seconds in to the second half.
“We saw the majority of the team perform at a high level, which gave us the platform for the result. IUPUI was a tricky opponent that worked hard behind the ball. I thought we put in the best performance to date with the promise of more to come,” head coach Jon Atkinson said. “Another positive is seeing the net bulge a few times with Crandall's shot being the pick of the bunch and it secured the win. We haven't been finishing well as of late and this result will improve the confidence, which I think has been the missing ingredient until now.
“It's great to get off the mark and reward the guys for all the hard work they have been doing. My only disappointment was the final 10 minutes where we allowed ourselves to be knocked off our rhythm and embroiled in unnecessary altercations. We need to mature in these areas to solidify the season, but we can use this as a good confidence-builder in readiness for our next opponent.”
Ian Block notched the Jaguars’ lone goal with 5:41 to go with a shot from about 25 yards out. All told, the Lancers outshot the Jaguars 7-6 throughout the 90 minutes.
Through three matches, Crandall leads the team in shots with six. Paul Hegedus has played all 290 minutes in net, allowing four goals and stopping 11 shots.
The Lancers’ home stand continues this coming week with two games in Farmville. Davidson comes to town on Saturday afternoon for a 3 p.m. kickoff before the American Eagles make the trip to the Southside on Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. start time.
