Archives For Longwood Athletics
Baseball (11-12,3-3): It was a rough week on the diamond for Buddy Bolding’s squad losing on the road at William & Mary and then winning just one game in a three game set against VMI. Things won’t get any easier in conference play for the Lancers next week. Longwood heads up 460 to take on their rival Liberty who is currently 15-9 and 4-2 in the Big South.
Next Week: 3/26 at NC Central (DH), 3/29-30 at Liberty (3 games)
Softball (22-10,8-4): Softball got their first taste of adversity in the conference this week getting swept by preseason favorite Coastal Carolina at home. Kathy Riley’s squad responded nicely though, sweeping Gardner-Webb to move to 8-4 in conference play. It’ll be a slow week on the softball field as their only game is in-state rival Radford coming to Wednesday for a Big South clash.
Next Week: 3/27 vs Radford
Lacrosse (6-3,2-1): It was an up and down week on the Lacrosse field. Longwood took down in-state rival ODU on the road 17-11. The Lancers then dropped their first Big South game of the year at Davidson 17-7 to move to 2-1 in conference play. Things get tough this week as LU heads to play preseason Big South favorite High Point.
Next Week: 3/27 at High Point, 3/30 vs William & Mary
October is here which signals the mid-season mark for the Lancers’ fall team sports. How have the Lancers done so far and what is on the horizon for this week?
Womens Soccer (8-4, 3-1): Longwood sits third in the Big South standings behind Winthrop and Radford, both of which are 3-0-1 in conference play. The Lancers had a South Carolina two-step last week where they took down Charleston Southern 2-0 in the Palmetto State but lost to Coastal Carolina 2-0 on Saturday. The Lancers return home this Thursday, where they are 5-1, to take on conference leader Winthrop (6-4-1, 3-0-1). The Eagles are coming off a win over preseason conference favorite Campbell, but they are just 2-3 on the road this year. Todd Dyer’s squad will also take the field in Farmville on Saturday as they welcome Gardner-Webb (2-9, 1-3). If the Lancers can get through this weekend with two wins then they’ll be in prime position going into a three game road trip against some of the Big South’s top schools.
Men Soccer (3-7-1, 2-5-1): The Lancers are currently second in the Big South standings mainly due to a scheduling oddity where they had to play most of their conference games early in the year. Longwood lost a tough home match up Wednesday to Big South rival Campbell 1-0. Despite the loss the club responded for a weekend win over Atlantic 10 opponent George Washington 3-1 in Washington, DC. This week Longwood will have their final Big South home match up against rival Radford (4-2-3, 2-0) on Wednesday. After the Wednesday match up Longwood will play five straight non-conference match ups before ending the season October 31 at Big South opponent Winthrop. The first of these non-conferences match ups will be this Saturday as they travel to play George Mason (7-2)
Field Hockey (2-10, 1-0): The Field hockey squad continued to struggle this week with a pair of home losses to Temple and Boston College. The Lancers are now done with their out-of-conference schedule and will strictly play NORPAC games for the rest of the season, where the Lancers are 1-0 in the standings. Longwood will play four straight road games and will not return to their home turf until October 20. The road trip starts Friday as the Lancers visit Davidson (3-5, 1-0). After the Friday night game the Lancers will head to Boone, NC to take on Appalachian State (2-7, 0-1). This weekends match ups present an opportunity for the Lancers to get a firm grip in the NORPAC East Standings and a favorable draw in the conference tournament, which is being hosted at Longwood this season.
We are the midway point for most of the Fall sports, so how did the Lancers fair last week and what does the immediate future look like?
Men’s Soccer (2-6-1, 2-4-1)
It was a rough week on the pitch for the Lancers as they lost in sloppy conditions 2-1 at Richmond and then tied a winless Gardner-Webb team at home on Saturday 0-0 in double overtime. The Lancers currently reside at first in the Big South standings but that is more due to the number of conference games played thus far, seven, and the fact the rest of the conference has only played one or two games. This week the Lancers have a Big South home game on Wednesday versus Campbell (4-2-1,0-1) and a Saturday match up visiting Atlantic 10 opponent George Washington (3-4).
Women’s Soccer (7-3, 2-0)
The lady Lancers continue to look impressive as they hosted a pair of Big South Conference games last week. First, Longwood knocked off UNC Asheville 4-0 and later took down Presbyterian 2-1 in OT on Saturday. The conference slate continues this week as the Lancers head to Charleston Southern on Thursday to take on the Buccaneers (3-5-1, 1-1) and then head up the coast to visit Coastal Carolina (3-6, 0-2) on Saturday. Longwood, Liberty, and Wintrhop all all tied atop the Big South standings with a 2-0 conference record.
Field Hockey (2-8, 1-0): The Lancers found success in their NorPac opener taking down rival Liberty 3-1 on Tuesday. Longwood then lost a 5-2 battle Saturday at the University of Richmond. This week Longwood closes out their non-conference slate by hosting Temple (5-5) Friday and the twenty-second ranked team in the country Saturday the ACC’s Boston College (5-5).
Via a source within the VCU athletic department Longwood will once again head to Richmond to take on the VCU Rams this December. The game will be on Friday December 21 at the Verizon Wireless Arena. The Rams are coming off a 29-7 season which ended in a two point loss to Indiana in the third round of the NCAA tournament. Leading scorer Bradford Burgess leaves but a slew of talented recruits, including his brother Jordan Burgess, will help supplement his loss. VCU is known for their up-tempo game and press defense. Longwood will see a similar style team earlier in the year, November 18 at Arkansas.
This will mark the fourth time the Lancers have taken on the Rams in the Division I era. The most recent match up came in Richmond in the 2007-08 season where the Rams throttled the Lancers 78-45. In 2005-06 the Lancers also fell in Richmond 91-80, and in 2006-07 the Rams opened their season in Farmville where they had a 75-63 victory.
Here is the Lancers’ Out of Conference Schedule so far:
Nov 18 @ Arkansas
Nov 20 @ Creighton
Nov 23 vs Florida A&M (Las Vegas)
Nov 24 vs Cornell/Presbyterian (Las Vegas)
Dec 10 @ Georgetown
Dec 19 @ Seton Hall
Dec 21 @ VCU
Discuss the Lancers Upcoming 2012-13 Schedule HERE
Photo via Wikipedia
According to multiple sources the 2012-13 version of Mike Gillian’s Lancers squad will travel to Omaha in mid-November to take on the Creighton Blue Jays. Creighton went 29-6 a year ago and garnered an eight seed in the NCAA tournament. The Blue Jays were ousted by North Carolina in the round of thirty-two.
This game will be the Lancers first trip to Omaha and will take place in mid-November as part of the 2012 Las Vegas Invitational. The Blue Jays are lead by forward All-American Doug McDermott, who averaged nearly 23 points per game last year, which was good enough for third in the country. Creighton is expected to be ranked in the top fifteen of most polls to begin the season.
The Lancers are also rumored to be heading to Fayetteville to be taking on the Arkansas Razorbacks as part of the invitational. They will then head to Las Vegas to compete in a four team bracket including Cornell, Florida A&M, and Big South rival Presbyterian.
LancersBlog will be teaming up with the White and Blue Review to get a unique perspective on the Lancers’ matchup with Creighton and the 2012 Las Vegas Invitational.
Photo via AP
Now that we are officially in the Big South Conference the obvious question turns to who will hoist a Big South championship first? Every one of Longwood’s sports will compete in Big South competition with the exception of Field Hockey. The Big South does not sponsor Field Hockey so the Lancers will enter their eighth season as a member of the NorPac Conference. So which of Longwood’s other sports is ready to immediately step up and take a Big South crown?
Immediate Contender
Softball- The obvious title contender is Kathy Riley’s softball squad. The 2011 team was screwed (for lack of a better word) out of the NCAA tournament and the team has shown it can compete at the highest levels. Brooke Short, Megan Baltzell, and Jordan Cox all return from a young squad that went 29-26 a year ago. The team will now have to rely on less neutral site tournaments and can focus on winning a Big South title.
2012 Big South Champion: Coastal Carolina
Could Contend
Men’s Soccer- The squad was 3-1 against Big South teams a year ago. Although the team lost some key players, the 2012 version of the Lancers is a veteran one coming off an Atlantic Soccer Conference championship. The Lancers return six seniors and two juniors, while also bringing in a talented recruiting class.
2011 Big South Champion: Liberty (Coastal Carolina also received a NCAA bid)
Women’s Golf- Amanda Steinhagen and Ariel Witmer have what it takes to make an immediate impact in the Big South. If the rest of the team gets hot at the Big South championship then the Lancers can definitely take the crown.
2012 Big South Champion: Campbell
Women’s Soccer- The squad continues to grow and was 1-2-1 against the Big South last year. They may be a year off, but this year’s team could make some noise this year with some a lot of players returning.
2011 Big South Champion: Radford
Wild Card
Men’s Basketball: The team has so many new additions to the roster that there is no telling how they will gel. The Big South is without a clear cut power in basketball this year, so the season may come down to whomever gets hot at the Big South tournament in Myrtle Beach.
2012 Big South Champion: UNC Asheville
Women’s Basketball: Liberty is the traditional power in women’s basketball for the Big South, but their imminent departure may open the door for other programs. Like the men’s program, the women’s team is adding a lot of new pieces and will need some time to come together. They are certainly heading in the right direction though.
2012 Big South Champion: Liberty
Lacrosse: The Big South will be a lacrosse league for the first time ever this year. Last year’s Lancers’ Lacrosse squad struggled, but with the new league everything could be up for grabs in 2013.
No Chance
Baseball: This is nothing against Buddy Bolding’s squad but Coastal Carolina is a perennial power in the college baseball scene and the scary thing is that Liberty is not far behind them. It will be near impossible to knock off both the Flames and Chanticleers in route to a NCAA bid.
2012 Big South Champion: Coastal Carolina
Men’s Golf: Once again, no offense to the program but this is a result of the other school’s involved. Coastal has always been a power and has produced pros like Dustin Johnson. Recently, Liberty has grown to power and even finished tenth at the NCAA championship this year. Remember the name Robert Karlsson because you’ll likely be hearing it on Sunday afternoons.
2012 Big South Champion: Liberty
Photo Via CRS Sports News
Seton Hall released their non-conference schedule today and as expected Longwood is set to take on the Pirates once again. This year’s game will take place on Wednesday December 19 in the Prudential Center. The Pirates are a member of the Big East and went 21-13 last year. Their season ended with a loss to Massachusetts in the second round of the NIT. This year’s squad will be rebuilding with no seniors currently on the roster.
This will be the third year in a row that the Lancers have faced Seton Hall. Last year the Pirates visited the Lancers where they won 87-61 despite a solid effort by Mike Gillian’s squad. Two years ago the Lancers lost in Newark 78-51. This game could also mean a return trip to NJIT who is also in Newark, but that remains to be seen.
