Box Score
RADFORD, Va. – The Longwood University field hockey team defeated Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference (NorPac) opponent Radford University (1-13, 1-4 NorPac), 5-4, in overtime on Sunday afternoon in Radford. Sophomore
Jessica Diaz|Chesapeake (Western Branch) led the Lancers (4-11, 3-1 NorPac) with two goals in the game. Longwood returns to action on Tuesday, October 16 when the squad travels to Liberty University for a 4:30 p.m. tilt.
“It was a hard fought game that we started very well,” said head coach
Iain Byers. “We controlled the ball a lot and were very effective. Unfortunately, we let Radford back in the game right at the very end. In the past, we have let that pressure get to us, but we came out strong in overtime and
Jessica Diaz scored the game winner.
Stacey de Grandhomme,
Hollie MacDonald and Jen Burris all turned in great performances today, as well.”
In addition to
Jessica Diaz, senior
Brittany Diaz|Chesapeake (Western Branch), junior
Stacey de Grandhomme|Cape Town, South Africa (Table View) and freshman
Nicole Deckard|Selinsgrove, Pa. (Selinsgrove Area) also recorded one goal apiece.
Brittany Diaz and freshman
Jennifer Burris|Virginia Beach (Kempsville) each notched one assist in the outing, as well, to help seal the victory. Freshman goalkeeper
Meg Mitchell|Allentown, Pa. (Emmaus) tallied five saves in the complete-game performance.
After the start time was pushed back 15 minutes, Longwood jumped out to an early lead just over one minute into play by converting on a penalty corner opportunity. Burris inserted the ball on the play and following a scramble for possession,
Brittany Diaz fired a shot from the top of the circle past the Radford goalkeeper, putting LU up, 1-0.
The Highlanders answered just over four minutes later on a direct corner shot by Sydney Myrdal that deflected off a defender to knot the game at 1-1.
The teams traded possession for 10 minutes until the Lancers broke the tie when
Brittany Diaz found Deckard for the shot and goal, making it a 2-1 game. Longwood added another goal before the first half ended, as de Grandhomme collected the rebound from her own initial shot and fired another from the top right of the circle to give her squad a 3-1 advantage with three minutes left in the half.
Coming out of the break, the Lancers continued to control the pace of play. Four minutes into the second half, Longwood broke down the field in a 3-on-1 situation before Burris dished a pass to
Jessica Diaz, who put a shot on goal to extend a LU's lead to 4-1.
Radford would not quietly, scoring two goals in less than three minutes to cut the deficit to just one. Jana Bayer sent a cross to teammate Paige Daughty for the redirect goal before Marianna Parker picked up a rebound off of Mitchell's pads and took a follow-up shot for the goal to make it a 4-3 game with less than 15 minutes remaining.
In the final minute of play, RU was awarded a corner opportunity and a chance to send the game to overtime. As regulation expired, Alayna Versage fed a pass to Stacey MacKintosh for the reverse-stick shot on goal, tying the match at 4-4 and forcing a 15-minute, sudden-victory overtime period.
More than eight minutes into overtime, the Lancers were awarded a penalty corner, allowing
Jessica Diaz to fire a shot from the left side of the cage, tallying the game-winning goal.
Longwood outshot Radford, 16-14, in the contest. Sunday's match marked the 30th meeting between Longwood and Radford in the sport of field hockey. Radford holds a slim, 14-13-3 advantage in the all-time series.
