FARMVILLE, Va. - Overcoming a slow start, the Virginia Military Institute men's soccer team kept things interesting late in its match at Longwood University Wednesday night at Athletics Complex in a Big South Conference intrastate clash.
Junior defender Max Farinholt drilled a goal from 40 yards out in the 81st minute to cut the Lancers' lead to 2-1, but the two first half goals, with a third tallied in the 83rd minute, were the difference as Longwood remained unbeaten in conference play at 4-0-1.
Farinholt got the first goal of his VMI career, having taken just three shots in three years until Wednesday night. After a Longwood foul, the defender sent in a ball to the box, where players from each team were jockeying for position. In the fray, Lancer keeper Carlos Canas lost track of the ball, which landed in the goal behind him.
Longwood got its goals from Zach Crandall and Ben Ferrell in the first half, followed by Zach Corcoran in the 83rd minute. Vaughn Fowler and Anthony Ugorji, Longwood's leading scorer, had assists on the Lancers' first and third goals of the night.
Despite the outcome, the match was close throughout, with the Lancers taking just 13 shots, a season low for VMI's opponents, while the Keydets (1-10-1, 1-5-0 BSC) took 10 attempts, putting six on frame. Senior keeper Daniel Kitchen made four stops while the backline was credited with a defensive save. Canas made five stops in goal for Longwood (5-4-3, 4-0-1 BSC).
Senior forward Aaron White led the offensive charge for the Keydets, taking four attempts with two on goal. He was the only VMI player to register multiple shots on goal, but four Keydets took one shot on goal each. Four Lancers took multiple shots during the conference clash, with three of those players putting two shots on goal.
Longwood got on the board early in the contest as Crandall netted a long pass from Fowler in the 14th minute. Fowler sent in a long pass into VMI's penalty area where Crandall tapped it to the right post to break the deadlock.
The Keydets had a pair of excellent chances with 17 minutes left in the opening half as White collected a long pass from Andrew Starnes. White's first attempt was tipped left by Lancer keeper Canas. White had a second chance with a header, following a corner kick from Wes Saupe. The header attempt just missed the right post.
Longwood extended its lead in the 30th minute as Ferrell pushed the Lancers' second goal of the night across. Ferrell controlled the ball after Kitchen cleared out a Lancer corner kick.
Another chance for VMI went wayward after a short corner kick from Travis Borkey to Santo Ripa, with the latter sending a long cross to the back post for Blake McCauley. The junior captain got his head on the ball, aiming for the left post but a Lancer defender cleared out the play.
With time winding down in the first stanza, VMI got one last attempt on a header from Chase Barnett inside the six-yard box. Canas managed to control the chance to keep the clean sheet.
Overcoming a slow start, VMI took five shots in the first 45 minutes, while the Lancers took seven. Each team made three saves. Keydet keeper Kitchen made two stops while McCauley was credited with a defensive save. Canas made all three saves for Longwood. The Keydets had two chances on the corners, while the Lancers had three.
VMI returns to Lexington Saturday afternoon as the second half of a doubleheader at Patchin Field. The Keydets take on Gardner-Webb University at 2:30 p.m., following a women's soccer game versus Presbyterian College, kicking off at noon. Both games will be streamed live and free of charge on the Big South Network.
