It’s been a difficult season for the Presbyterian College Men’s Soccer team. Riding a three match goal drought and an eight match losing streak, t

he Blue Hose have been struggling to score. They were looking to change that, however, when the 2-1-8 Longwood Lancers came to town.

The Blue Hose started quickly, when, in the third minute, Steven Huppe made his way down the wing and found Garrett Glaze whose shot went just wide. Longwood responded immediately, however, as Finnlay Wyatt found Steffan Hoogland in the box, who took a shot and forced PC’s Connor Behrend into a nice save.

The teams battled for possession for the next ten minutes, until, in the thirteenth minute, Longwood’s Anthony Ugorji took advantage of defensive mistakes and took a shot which went off the post and into the goal putting the Lancers ahead, 1:0.

The Blue Hose refused to put their heads down, however, as they looked to equalize sooner rather than later. Max Smith found Cade Crow on the right wing who worked it down the sideline. Crow then found Bobby Dukes who hit a cross into Mason Lewis whose shot was just wide.

Longwood’s response came rapidly as Lee Martin played Ugorji into the box, between two Blue Hose defenders before he slotted his second goal of the match past Behrend. They weren’t done causing trouble either. Just six minutes later, Behrend was forced to punch away a Longwood corner only for the ball to fall to Jonathan Majin, who sent his shot wide of the post. Similarly, Zach Crandall had an opportunity that he too wasted.

The final true chance of the first half fell to the Blue Hose when Huppe was brought down by Longwood’s Michael Margulis just outside the penalty box giving the home team an excellent opportunity to score from a set piece. Mason Lewis stepped up to the ball and struck a beautiful shot that unfortunately went just wide, ending the first half.

The second half had some great chances for both teams, the first of which fell to Presbyterian. Alec Van Wormer was brought down right on the edge of the box giving Ignacio Monchetti the perfect opportunity to bring the Blue Hose back into the match. He almost succeeded, hitting his shot low and to the right, but Longwood keeper Carlos Canas made an excellent save.

The Lancers fought back hard, though, as Dan Campos hit a cross into Crandall, who took a shot off the volley as it flew by Behrend for Longwood’s third goal. Crandall was then able to be involved in his team’s fourth goal, ten minutes later, as he dribbled through defenders and sent in a cross to Ugorji whose header found the net, sealing his hat trick.

The Blue Hose were desperate for a late goal in this match finding opportunities left and right. In the seventy eighth minute, Chase Fearon had a shot that almost had Blue Hose fans out of their seats, as the shot rolled right across the face of goal, past keeper Carl Carpenter, but also past the post, wide. Unfortunately, in the eightieth minute, Van Wormer played John Speed into the box, only to be brought down for a penalty. Mason Lewis lined up behind the ball, looked Carpenter in the eye, sending him left and his shot right, bulging the back of the net for the first PC goal in three matches.

When the referee blew the whistle for full time, the scoreboard read 4:1 in favor of the Lancers, but that’s not necessarily the worst result for the Blue Hose. Coach Boulware’s players found success down the wing, sending in nice crosses. They also were able to worry Longwood’s keepers on set pieces. While they came away without a win, the Blue Hose left the field with several positives that the team will hopefully use in their final matches. The Blue Hose will return to Martin Stadium when they host Liberty on Saturday, November 1^st.