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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
PaigeOlson
Rob Simmons
3
Winner Radford RAD (9-5-2, 5-1-1)
1
Longwood LWU (4-7-4, 2-2-2)
Winner
Radford RAD
(9-5-2, 5-1-1)
3
Final
1
Longwood LWU
(4-7-4, 2-2-2)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Radford RAD 1 2 3
Longwood LWU 0 1 1

Game Recap: Women's Soccer |

Statement Road Win Over Longwood Seals Postseason Spot for Women’s Soccer

FARMVILLE, VA. – The Radford women's soccer program picked up their most dominant road win of the season Wednesday night 3-1 over Longwood. The win was Radford's fifth of the conference schedule and clinches a spot for the Highlanders in the Big South Tournament.

A tightly contested conference battle over the last five seasons, Radford and Longwood came into Wednesday's meeting tied up 2-2-1 over their last five matches against each other. With postseason implications for both squads, intensity was high from the start and came to a boiling point in the 37th minute.

Radford made back-to-back possessions in Longwood's box for scoring opportunities and almost came up empty until Alexeis Kirnos went down hard and drew a penalty off a Lancer defender. Radford was awarded the penalty kick and Helena Willson took the attempt nailing the shot for the 1-0 lead.

Willson's penalty goal was a rare sight for the Highlanders as Kirnos had netted the last five penalty goals for Radford dating back to 2021. Willson is the first Highlander other than Kirnos to attempt a penalty kick and score one since Brianna Oliver did so during the 2021 campaign.

The Highlanders took a 1-0 lead into halftime and would keep the intensity headed into the second half. In the 59th minute, Radford's aggression on the offensive end paid off as a fortuitous bounce made it a 2-0 lead.

Lilly Short and Paige Olson teamed up to catch the Lancers defensive line off guard. With Olson seeking to double the lead, the Lancer defender struck the ball attempting to clear it out of the box. Olson stuck out her leg and got the perfect bounce to pass the surrounding defenders and Lancer goalie and make it 2-0. The goal was Olson's second of the season, elevating her season point total to a career-high 14.

Not done yet, Radford continued to add to its lead. In the 70th minute June Stevens went the length of the field and shook off multiple defenders to open a clean look on goal. Stevens snuck the shot past the goalie to make it a 3-0 lead, her third goal of the season which ties her career high.

The Lancers would score a goal in the closing minutes to erase the shutout, but Radford held on for the 3-1 victory. The Highlanders Big South record now stands at 5-1-1, good for 16 points in the conference standings. With just four schools making the Big South Tournament, Radford has scored enough points in the standings to seal one of those four top seeds with work still to be done.

"Longwood has always been a tough place for us to get a result," commented head coach Ben Sohrabi. "The coaches always have their team prepared for us. It was a hard-fought game and I'm proud of this group's toughness. The second half we made some adjustments, and the team handled it so well."

AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
  • UNC Asheville scored a pair of goals in both the first and second half to blow past Winthrop 4-0 and stay alive in the postseason conversation.
  • High Point and Gardner-Webb each netted second half goals to deadlock in a 1-1 tie as the Runnin' Bulldogs have heated up going two straight matches unbeaten.
  • Charleston Southern and Presbyterian battled in a pivotal conference standings match and tied 1-1 thanks to another pair of second half goals.
  • USC Upstate competed against South Carolina State in non-conference action winning 10-0.
 
UP NEXT
The final contest of the regular season for the Highlanders this Saturday, October 21st is jam-packed with intrigue. Radford and Gardner-Webb will kick off at 6 p.m. in a rematch of last year's Big South Championship with regular season title hopes still alive for the Highlanders. It's also homecoming weekend as Radford will be honoring the 1998 Big South Tournament champions. Finally, it's Senior Day for the Highlanders who will honor 10 seniors pre-game.

FOLLOW RADFORD WOMEN'S SOCCER ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on the Radford women's soccer team follow @RadfordWSOC on Twitter and Instagram or Radford Women's Soccer on Facebook.
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