GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG men's soccer continues its current winning streak, tallying a victory in their fourth straight contest. The Spartans defeat visitors Longwood by a final of 2-1, with Theo Collomb and Mani Austmann (GW) getting on the board.

The Spartans were in control of play for the majority of the opening 45 minutes, jumping on their opponents early with their work on the wing to tally their first goal of the afternoon in the ninth minute. Working up the left side of the field, Sam Coad delivered a dangerous ball from the edge of the 18 that was deflected by the Longwood defense. The deflection may have steered the ball on net but striker Theo Collomb made sure the Spartans would go ahead, passing in the go ahead just a few feet above the goalline. 

The Lancers started to steal back a share of the ball in the final 15 minutes of the first half, but the Spartans would still be the favorite at the conclusion of the first 45, leading their opponents 61-percent to 39 in possession and, more importantly, 1-0 in the goal column. 

"We scored early, which was fantastic, we always want to do that," said Spartans head coach Chris Rich. "I thought that early on in the first half there were many opportunities to get that second one and it just never came. We weren't organized enough to keep sustained possession long enough to create more opportunities to get that second goal, so we made some adjustments and fixed that at half time. The second half goal was a result of those adjustments..."

UNCG jumped back on the Lancers in the second half and coach Rich and company wouldn't have long to wait for goal number two. Sophomore Mani Austmann tallied his second goal in as many games during the 60th minute, putting away what proved to be the eventual game-winner. Making a run inside the 18, Austmann drove a shot toward the top left corner of the goal, and while Longwood's keeper was able to get a hand to the shot, it wasn't enough to keep the Spartans' second tally from going in. 

UNCG continued to push for a third goal, reeling off four unanswered shots. Longwood would eventually get their own opportunities however, as a red card in the 78th minute forced the home team down to 10 men. 

While outplayed for near the entirety of the match, the Lancers began getting a bigger share of the ball in the final 10-plus minutes and were even able to bury a direct free kick in the 87th, to cut UNCG's lead in half. 

The Spartans kept Longwood from finding the equalizer as the final three minutes went without a shot for either side. UNCG's 2-1 advantage outlasted the Lancers to give the Spartans four straight victories since their season opening loss, as they now prepare to open SoCon play at Mercer next Saturday.

>> Collomb's assist puts him even with Fernando Garcia for a team-high six points on the year, he now has two goals and a pair of helpers in 2021
>> Longwood's marker in the 87th minute ended the Spartans' shutout streak at 341 minutes. UNCG is averaging .50 goals against in their current four-match winning streak, while scoring an average of 2.75 themselves in the same amount of time
>> The Spartans outshot their opponents 15-4 on Thursday, however both teams finished with three shots on goal

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