The women’s team started a four game home stand starting this weekend, playing Richmond in the annual G.A.M.E. and Western Carolina. In Richmond, a crowd of 1,450 supported the team, and it was a close game all the way to the end.
Richmond got on the scoreboard first in the twelfth minute, but Longwood would respond in the 54th minute when senior Kelsey McDonald helped open up freshman Teresa Frutcherman.
Frutcherman has scored in her first two games as a Lancer including
a game-tying goal in the team’s win against American.
“These past few games have been great exposure into a much faster, more aggressive game of soccer at the collegiate level which I have to adopt towards. It feels great to be able to contribute to my team in any way possible, whether it be by making the pass for someone to score or finishing my chances in front of the goal,” says Frutcherman.
The spiders broke the tie in the 78th minute, but the Lancers would have a couple more opportunities to tie it back up. One opportunity came from senior Samantha Phillips, but was denied by the Richmond goalkeeper. The game against Western Carolina was another nail biter that could go either way. In the 16th minute, the team fell behind due to a goal off a corner kick. The team would fight for the next 70 minutes until Phillips tied the game up in the 85th minute.
The Lancers’ comeback can be attributed to keeping the ball on Western Carolina’s side of the field. Another key factor to the tie comes from defenseman Kelsey McDonald, who controlled a third of the field single handedly, before forward Gina D’Orazio was able to get the offense going and assist on Phillips’ tying goal.
McDonald has been playing a huge role in the backfield the last three games, putting pressure on the opponents and keeping them to a shooting percentage of .089. Another factor to the defense was goalkeeper Hailey Machen, who kept opponents’ shots off goal at 60 percent.
Phillips has been playing a huge factor in the offense lately, playing hero late in the games. Along with the game-tying goal against Western Carolina, she scored a game-winning goal against American University. She has scored two goals in three games and leads the team in shots with eight after last season when she only scored four goals off 49 shots.
“My mindset, when we were down late in the game, was ‘what can I do to help my team get a goal.’ So far this season, we have responded well when we are down late in the game. We fight until the very end of the game, and that is exactly what we did this game,” says Phillips.
The team continues their home stand playing VMI on Wednesday, Sept. 3, and then Virginia Tech on Tuesday, Sept. 9.
