Kicking off the 2018 season at home, the VMI men’s soccer team fell by a 3-0 score to visiting Longwood Friday evening at Patchin Field.
The Keydets (0-1) and Lancers (1-0) battled to a 0-0 draw at the half before Longwood came alive in the second half with the trio of goals. The Lancers proved dominant on the offensive end, taking 26 shots to VMI’s two. In his first career game at VMI, freshman goalie Broden Schull stayed busy with 10 saves on the day.
“It was a tough first test for our program today,” said VMI head coach Michael Bonelli. “We are not happy with the result, but there are definitely some positives to build on. We will evaluate today and make some adjustments to prepare us for our next match.”
In the 47th minute, the Keydets were called for a foul in their own goalbox to set up a penalty kick for the Lancers’ Josh Hanratty, who converted the opportunity for a 1-0 Longwood advantage. The Lancers would go on to add two scores later in the half with goals from Mikel Abando and Markus Gronli.
A physical match, the two squads combined for five yellow cards including three for Longwood and two for the Keydets.
Jonathan Martinez and Brandon Hornung were credited with shot attempts for the Keydets.
VMI returns to Patchin Field on Tuesday afternoon with a 4 p.m. matchup against another Big South opponent in Liberty as the Flames will make the short journey from Lynchburg.
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