Runnin' Bulldogs Play Longwood to a Scoreless Double Overtime Draw on Saturday Night
September 23, 2012 | Men's Soccer
Farmville, Va. - For the third straight match, the Gardner-Webb men's soccer team saw its contest go to overtime, as the Runnin' Bulldogs' Big South Conference opener on Saturday night at Longwood went into double overtime before finishing in a 0-0 scoreless draw at the Athletics Complex in Farmville, Va.
Despite outshooting the Lancers 14-5 over the 110 minutes of play, including putting six shots on frame compared to Longwood's three, the Runnin' Bulldogs couldn't find the back of the net in order to record its first win of the season.
The tie places Gardner-Webb at 0-6-1 overall and 0-0-1 in Big South play, while Longwood moves to 2-6-1 overall and 2-4-1 in conference play with the draw.
While the draw snaps GWU's losing streak at six-matches this season, or seven overall dating back to last year's season-ending loss to Liberty in the Big South Championship match, the Runnin' Bulldogs remain winless in 2012 and winless over its last eight matches dating back to last season.
In fact, the Runnin' Bulldogs' last win was in the first round of the 2011 Big South Championship Tournament over the Winthrop Eagles last season.
GWU has not won an overtime match since defeating Stetson, 2-1, in overtime, back in 2006 in the 2006 Atlantic Sun Championship Tournament match, and are 0-2-1 in overtime contests thus far this season.
The Gardner-Webb offense controlled the ball early and was firing on all cylinders, as the Runnin' Bulldogs outshot Longwood 8-0 in the first 22 minutes of play.
GWU redshirt-junior Satoshi Tatsumi, junior Jonas Nader and senior John Sargent tallied the first three shots of the contest, as all three attempts sailed high and over the goal in the first 12 minutes of the match.
In the 14th minute, the Runnin' Bulldogs' offense zoned in more on target, as freshman midfielder Craig Swaby had his first shot attempt stopped by Longwood goalkeeper Paul Hegedus, while Tatsumi's second shot attempt minutes later was blocked by a Lancer defender in the 17th minute.
On the ensuing corner kick, junior defender Marius Hammersmark played the ball into the box, where sophomore midfielder Riley Shelton put a head on it, sending it flying towards the goal only to have it deterred once more by Hegedus to keep the match scoreless through 17 minutes of action.
After Gardner-Webb's Tatsumi put his third shot attempt of the match high in the 23rd minute, Longwood would register its first shot attempt off the foot of Jared Windt at the 23 minute mark, which sailed over the goal and out of play.
As the game wore on, the offenses slowed down, as the two teams' each posted one shot apiece over the next 12 minutes of the first half, with each scoring chance flying offline to keep the match at 0-0 through the first 35 minutes of the match.
Perhaps the Runnin' Bulldogs best scoring chance in the opening half came in the 38th minute, as Longwood's goalkeeper was out of position when Shelton fired a shot toward the goal. However, Lancer defender Mike Tegler made a heads up play to make the save and keep the visiting Runnin' Bulldogs off the scoreboard.
GWU's Scott Krotee would make his first save of the contest minutes later on a Vinnie Llana shot in the 43rd minute, while Shelton tired once more to find the back of the net this time by way of a header off a Hammersmark corner kick in the 44th minute, only to have Hegedus record yet another save on the play.
Despite outshooting the Lancers 11-3 in the first half, the Runnin' Bulldogs couldn't find the goal, as the score set at 0-0 heading into the halftime intermission.
The second half started off much like the first, as again the Runnin' Bulldogs came out looking to score first, as Sargent had a shot go wide in the 54th minute and Nader had his shot attempt hauled in by Hegedus in the 56th minute, as GWU's struggles to score a goal continued.
The next 15 minutes of play would see both teams trying to take control of the match, as Krotee would again come to GWU's aid in the 71st minute, as the redshirt-senior corralled a Taylor Evans shot attempt to keep the home team off the scoreboard.
GWU's Swaby would again look to put the visitors in front with another scoring chance in the 75th minute, only to have Hegedus make yet another save for the Lancers in goal, knocking the ball away at the last minute.
Neither team would put together a scoring chance over the final 15 minutes of regulation, as the match would end at 0-0 in regulation to force overtime.
In the OT period, GWU tried to score off a corner kick in the 92nd minute, yet failed to get off a shot attempt, while the Lancers lone scoring chance off the head of Anthony Ugorji was knocked away by the Runnin' Bulldogs' Krotee in the 98th minute to send the match into a second overtime frame.
Both teams had run out of gas over the final 10 minutes of play, as neither team would register a chance to score in the second overtime period to finish the match in a 0-0 scoreless double overtime draw.
Krotee recorded three saves in goal for GWU, while Longwood's Hegedus had five saves over 110 minutes of play.
Tatsumi led the Runnin' Bulldogs with four shot attempts on the night, while Shelton and Swaby put three and two shots on frame, respectively.
GWU also held an 11-3 advantage in corner kicks and 9-8 in fouls, while Longwood was called for offsides seven times compared to the Runnin' Bulldogs' six.
Gardner-Webb will remain on the road for its next contest, as GWU will jump back out conference play to take on No. 17 N.C. State on Tuesday night, September 25th, at 7 p.m. Raleigh, N.C.
###
| Box Score: GWU 0, Longwood 0 (2OT) |
