Going into the fall campaign, everyone knew that the Longwood women’s soccer team would have their work cut out for them before conference play even came around.
It was well documented that the nonconference schedule was going to be a gauntlet as the Lancers had matchups against some of the best competition in the nation including nationally ranked, top ten opponents Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
They also had to endure a five game road swing that lasted over 19 days and saw games anywhere between Cullowhee, North Carolina to Morgantown, West Virginia. Two other stops included Richmond to take on the Spiders, and Lexington, Virginia for a contest with the VMI Keydets.
Those were just the road games.
Longwood also opened the season with an exhibition against East Carolina, a team that finished last season in the top 50 RPI for Division I soccer. Once Big South play came around, they immediately faced the defending Big South champion High Point Panthers and Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in back-to-back games.
The Lancers were able to go 1-1 and had a great chance to start 2-0, but a heartbreaking overtime loss ended that dream.
Having gotten two of the toughest conference games out of the way early, Longwood seized the opportunity presented and caught fire.
In the last three weeks, the Lancers have gone 3-0-2 with three shutouts and have positioned themselves in a situation where they can control their own destiny within the Big South. The three wins came against Radford, Presbyterian and Charleston Southern; the ties were on the road against Winthrop and Gardner-Webb.
During that stretch, the Lancers have been led by a number of players, including two-time All-Big South selection Amanda Spencer, who found the back of the net in three straight games to give her 20 career goals.
Sophomore goalkeeper Maria Kirby has notched three shutouts, one coming against Charleston Southern who has Big South scoring leader junior forward Anna Sells.
Senior midfielder Olivia Colella has also been a key to success, adding two goals and an assist. Junior forward Gina D’Orazio helped to get the hot streak going with assists in three of four games against High Point, Coastal Carolina and Radford.
As of this week, Longwood sits at No. 4 in the Big South standings behind Liberty (7-7-1, 5-2-0), Campbell (10-6-0, 5-3-0) and Coastal Carolina (9-5-1, 5-1-1).
Two of the remaining three contests are in the familiar confines of the Athletics Complex here in Farmville, Virginia starting Wednesday, Oct. 21 against the Campbell Fightin’ Camels on the Big South Network, then one final road game follows on Saturday, Oct. 24 against the UNC Asheville Bulldogs.
Longwood’s Route 460 Rival Liberty comes to town next week on Longwood’s senior night, a game that has the potential to decide who wins the Big South and earns the top seed in the conference tournament.
