8.28.12

CLINTON, S.C. - The Longwood University men's soccer team dropped a 2-1 double-overtime decision to Big South Conference opponent Presbyterian College (1-1) on Monday afternoon in Clinton, South Carolina. Freshman midfielder Philip van Berkom|Zetten, The Netherlands (Hendrik Pierson College) scored the first goal of his career for the Lancers (0-2) in the outing. The game ended less than a minute into the second overtime when PC converted on a penalty kick. Longwood will return to action on Saturday, September 1 at 7 p.m. in the team's home opener against Liberty University at the Athletics Complex in Farmville.

“The game can be cruel at times, but when you haven't done enough to put the game beyond any doubt, things like this can happen, and I hope we learned a painful lesson,” said head coach Jon Atkinson. “We should have been home and dry, but being a young team, we have much growth to make before we can solidify ourselves with the nation's best. Scoring goals is an art that we have to work very hard to overcome and we have to do that quickly with our front-loaded schedule.”

The teams played a back-and-forth game that was scoreless through the first 45 minutes of action with neither squad able to move the net. The Lancers came out strong after the break, taking a 1-0 advantage less than three minutes into the second half when they converted on a corner kick. Junior midfielder Brian Henry|Stafford, Va. (Colonial Forge) took the kick from the left side and made a strong cross that found van Berkom for the go-ahead goal.

Ignacio Monchetti tied the game for the Blue Hose in the 75 minute of play, dribbling to the right side and firing a shot past the Longwood keeper.

Tied at one through 90 minutes of regulation, the teams went to overtime. The Lancers maintained possession for a good portion of the first extra period, outshooting the Blue Hose, 3-1, but after the teams battled through 10 more minutes of scoreless play, the match went to a second overtime. The deciding goal came just 57 seconds into the second overtime, as Jonny Mercado made good on his penalty kick opportunity to seal the victory for Presbyterian.

Freshman goalkeeper Carl Carpenter played all 100+ minutes in front of the net for the Lancers, totaling four saves in the first start of his collegiate career.

Longwood forced seven corners compared to two for Presbyterian. The Blue Hose finished the game with a 14-11 shot advantage. Sophomore Jonathan Kukapa| Leesburg, Va. (Clarksburg - Md.) and freshmen Christian Keilty|Spotsylvania, Va. (Riverbend) each registered a team-high two shots for LU, while Byron Quinatoa led PC with four.

Monday's match marked the third meeting all-time between Longwood and Presbyterian in men's soccer. The Blue Hose now lead the series, 2-1.

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