FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood University men’s soccer team notched four shots in the final three minutes of play, but was unable to find the back of the net, as the squad dropped a 1-0 decision against visiting American University (2-2-2) on Tuesday evening in Farmville. Sophomore Zach Crandall/Lorton paced the Lancers with three shots in the match, while freshman goalkeeper Carlos Canas/Manassas recorded 10 saves in his first career start. Colin Seigfreid scored the lone goal of the match to propel the Eagles to victory. Longwood (1-3-1) will wrap up a stretch of four consecutive home games with its first Big South Conference contest of the year against High Point University on September 21 at 7 p.m.

“The game swung on the first half where we got hurried into making bad decisions, and quite frankly, did a poor job of dealing with pressure,” said head coach Jon Atkinson. “In that time frame, we coughed up an opportunity that American took with relish and it could have been more. The adjustments at halftime helped and we made a game of it. We can at least say we overcame a horror start to finish on the front foot, giving American a few scares in the process. We need to learn from this and bring a complete 90 minutes of effective soccer for our Big South home opener. I certainly know we are capable, as we have shown it in bursts, but we have to show this in practice for the remainder of the week and step up on game day.”

The teams played evenly matched in the middle of the field for the first 10 minutes of the contest before American registered the first shot of the night, which was saved by Canas. The Eagles were able to get on the board on the next time down the field, however, as Dale Ludwig dished a pass from the right side of box to teammate Seigfreid in the middle for the tap in, giving AU a 1-0 advantage. The visitors quickly threatened to extend their lead on a shot by Ludwig that sailed just barely too wide. Crandall followed with the first chance of the evening for Longwood off of a give and go, but his attempt was high. The Eagles followed with seven consecutive shots, including a free kick in the 35th minute that was fired off the foot of Seigfreid, but was batted away by an outstretched Canas. The Lancers’ only other chance of the half came in the 44th minute when sophomore Zach Corcoran/Martinsville made a quick turn and belted a shot that skidded towards the net before it was blocked by the keeper, sending the home squad into the half with a one-goal deficit.

American put a header on target to open the second half, but Canas came up with the save. The Eagles followed with two more attempts, including a rocket by Matt Harlow that was turned away once again. Sophomore Rhys Cairns/Washington, England put a shot on goal for the Lancers that was saved and freshman Ben Ferrell/Fairfax Station connected on a long strike that sailed high. In the 65th minute, Seigfreid found the corner of the net once again, but the goal was called back when an Eagle was caught offsides. The Lancers threatened on a corner, as senior Patrick McDaniel/Midlothian chested the cross just left of the net. After two more AU shots, Longwood tallied the final four attempts of the game, but Cairns and Ferrell sent their chances wide, and Crandall had a pair of shots saved, including a header in the 89th minute, to secure the decision for the Eagles.

American outshot Longwood, 17-9, and forced more corner kicks, 6-2, in the outing. Tuesday’s match marked just the second meeting ever between Longwood and American in the sport of men’s soccer. The Eagles now lead the all-time series, 2-0.

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