Sarah Putney Named Women's Soccer Captain

Women's Soccer VMIKeydets.com

Women's Soccer Falls to Longwood, 2-0

FARMVILLE, Va. – Olivia Colella scored twice for the Longwood Lancers, leading them to a 2-0 win over the VMI Keydets in Big South women's soccer action Saturday night in Farmville, Va.

The match was closely contested, but in the 12th minute, Longwood's (12-5-1, 7-2-1 Big South) Colella worked herself open into a 1 v 1 situation against VMI (1-15, 0-10 Big South) goalkeeper Mackenzie Harrmann. The resultant shot beat Harrmann to her left for the eventual game-winner, and the Longwood scorer would add another in the 64th minute to account for the final margin.

Action got underway on the crisp, cool night in Farmville with several minutes of midfield play before the first shot, a try on goal by Colella that was stopped by Harrmann in the ninth minute. The Lancer player came back and scored at 11:39, however, putting her team on the board off an assist from Nikki Glisson. The goal was Colella's second of the season.

The Keydets counterattacked in the 17th minute, as Simone Jimenez's shot forced a Kyra Byron save, and Harrmann stopped Lindsey Ottavio in the 18th minute. Longwood then produced two more shots and a corner kick in the next two minutes, but could not get a shot on goal during that time, as the margin remained at 1-0.

The teams traded shots in the 29th and 31st minutes of play, with Ottavio and Sarah Putney both missing wide, and Liz Affronti misfired in the 34th minute. Finally, Longwood managed the game's next shot on goal with a try in the 42nd minute, but Harrmann stopped Haylea Witz to keep it a one-goal game. She did the same to Rebecca Soares just moments later, and that save would send the contest to halftime with the home team up, 1-0.

In the first half, Longwood outshot VMI 9-3 and held a 5-2 edge in corner kicks, but as become the custom with Keydet women's soccer, VMI was able to draw its opponent into several offside violations, in this case, four such miscues. The Keydets came into the game having seen their opponents average more than 13 offside violations over VMI's last three games, including 15 by Liberty on Thursday.

The Keydets came out of the locker room strong, and after a shot by Glisson missed wide, VMI had its second shot on goal. In this case, Byron was able to stop a Courtney Mason try in the 48th minute, preserving Longwood's one-goal lead.

Harrmann turned aside Colella in the 53rd minute, and then survived a furious Lancer rally moments later. Ottavio hit the post with a try at 56:23, but Longwood got the ball right back and Kelsey McDonald was stopped by Harrmann. Ottavio then had the third shot of the push, but again, Harrmann was up to the task and made the save, preserving the one-goal game.

The home team added to that lead in the 64th minute. Off a series of passes, Colella possessed the ball in the box and beat Harrmann to her left for the score. It was Colella's second goal of the game and third of the season, giving Longwood a 2-0 advantage.

From there, the game turned into a defensive battle. Neither team mustered another shot on goal until the 85th minute, when Allie Segura was stopped by Byron, and at 87:11, so was Jimenez. That would be VMI's final shot on goal of the match, as Longwood held on for the 2-0 win.

In the final stats, Longwood outshot VMI 19-6, with the shots on goal margin being substantially smaller at 10-4, LU. Harrmann made eight saves for the Keydets, while Kyra Byron had four for Longwood before being relieved for the final 2:27. The Lancers held an 8-4 edge in corner kicks, but that margin was just 3-2 in the second half.

VMI women's soccer will return to action Tuesday for the team's season finale, facing Radford in a road matchup in Radford. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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Players Mentioned

Liz Affronti

#16 Liz Affronti

M/F
5' 5"
Sophomore
Mackenzie Harrmann

#0 Mackenzie Harrmann

GK
5' 6"
Freshman
Simone Jimenez

#6 Simone Jimenez

M/F
5' 9"
Senior
Sarah Putney

#8 Sarah Putney

M/F
5' 5"
Sophomore
Allie Segura

#15 Allie Segura

M/D
5' 4"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Liz Affronti

#16 Liz Affronti

5' 5"
Sophomore
M/F
Mackenzie Harrmann

#0 Mackenzie Harrmann

5' 6"
Freshman
GK
Simone Jimenez

#6 Simone Jimenez

5' 9"
Senior
M/F
Sarah Putney

#8 Sarah Putney

5' 5"
Sophomore
M/F
Allie Segura

#15 Allie Segura

5' 4"
Sophomore
M/D