Lancers shutout WV Mountaineers, 2-0
Published 10:59 am Thursday, September 17, 2015
Junior goalkeeper Carlos Canas posted seven saves to earn a shutout in his first start of the season as Longwood picked up a 2-0 road victory at Appalachian State Tuesday night at the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex.
Canas and the Longwood defense shut down the Mountaineer attack that came into the night with the top record in the Sun Belt Conference.
The junior goalkeeper made seven saves on 15 shots from the Appalachian State attack, including three saves in the final 15 minutes to preserve the clean sheet and extend the blue and white’s win streak to two straight games.
“Appalachian State is off to a great start and is a very difficult opponent to get a clean sheet against,” said Longwood head coach Jon Atkinson. “To get this win on the road shows the resolve and maturity our guys have had in their game of late.”
The win moves Longwood to 3-1-0 to open the season, marking the squad’s best start in the first four games of the year in the Division I era.
The Lancers snapped Appalachian State’s three-game winning streak it had coming into the game, as the Mountaineers fall to 3-2-0.
Longwood withstood a Mountaineer attack in the opening seven minutes of the game that rifled two shots on target, both of which were handled well by Canas.
After a scoreless first half, Longwood cracked the Appalachian State defense when Sherif Maalouf opened the scoring in the 52nd minute with his first career goal.
A product of Cairo, Egypt, Maalouf received a pass from Finnlay Wyatt and was able to elevate a tight angle shot from the right side and send it past Mountaineer goalkeeper Paul West.
Willy Miezan continued his ridiculous run to open his Lancer career, giving the blue and white an insurance goal in the 75th minute when he dribbled past West and fired into the open Mountaineer net.
The Big South’s leading goal scorer, Miezan has found the back of the net in each of Longwood’s first four games and is third in the country in goals scored while ranking first in goals per game.
Longwood returns to the Athletics Complex Saturday for a contest against William & Mary. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.