#3 Longwood Reaches Semifinals with 2-0 Win over #6 Charleston Southern
By Longwood Athletics
FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood women's soccer took care of business behind a smothering press and good halftime adjustments to win a Big South Tournament match on Saturday night.
Meghan Piazza scored off a penalty kick, and Remi Siner earned her first goal of the season in a 2-0 win that pushed the third-seeded Lancers (9-7-2) past sixth-seeded Charleston Southern.
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Both sides played with plenty of energy in the first half, but stout defenses walled off the 18-yard box and limited good scoring chances.
That changed after halftime. Charleston Southern (6-8-4) forced Lancer goalkeeper Sara Curtis to make a pair of saves early, but she was equal to the task.
Then the Lancer offense got going. Madison Fitzpatrick corralled a long ball over the top and was dragged down from behind inside the 18 to earn a penalty kick in the 55th minute.
Piazza made sure it counted. The junior coolly slotted the ball to the left side for a 1-0 lead, but that wasn't enough for the Lancers.
Ten minutes later, Siner blasted home a screamer for a 2-0 lead off a quick find from freshman Sarah Olson.
The Lancer backline, along with Curtis, made it stay that way. Curtis had a trio of saves on the day to earn the win.
* This is the fifth shutout for the Lancers against a Big South opponent this season.
* Curtis earned her 22nd career shutout and her 13th as a Lancer.
* Longwood put up 15 shots in the match
* Piazza is 3-3 for penalty kicks on the season
WHAT THEY SAID:
"I thought we were a lot better in the second half", said Head Coach Todd Dyer. "Statistically, it looked like we were okay in the first half as far as shots and stuff like that, but I thought we were really flat. I thought we were disconnected. I didn't think we were on brand as far as what we like to try to do with and without the ball, and the score line showed that at the half. We weren't getting any pressure on their center backs, and so they could kind of dictate play starting from the back. They could go direct if they wanted to."
UP NEXT:
Longwood will make its way down to Matthews, N.C., to the Matthews Sportsplex to face off against USC Upstate on Nov. 6, with kickoff slated at 7 p.m. This match will be aired on ESPN+.