Box Score

FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood University field hockey squad lost, 4-2, to The College of William and Mary (3-0) of the Colonial Athletic Association in the team's home opener on Friday evening at the Athletics Complex in Farmville. Senior midfielder Christina Verhulst|Yorktown (Grafton) led the Lancers (0-3) with one goal and one assist for three points in the outing. Longwood returns to action on Sunday, September 2, when it hosts Duke University of the Atlantic Coast Conference at 1 p.m.

Freshman Jennifer Burris|Virginia Beach (Kempsville) added to the Lancers offensive effort with the first goal of her collegiate career. She tallied a game-high four shots, including three on goal. Freshman goalkeeper Meg Mitchell|Allentown, Pa. (Emmaus) anchored the Longwood defense, tying a season-high with nine saves in the complete-game performance.

After over six minutes of back-and-forth action, William and Mary was able to break the game open, as Christine Johnson sent a strong ball towards teammate Jesse Ebner for the redirect and goal to make it a 1-0 Tribe advantage.

Less than one minute later, Verhulst retaliated for the Lancers, when she collected the ball, dribbled to the top left of the circle and took a hard shot that skidded past the William and Mary keeper to knot the game at 1-1.

The Tribe rattled the cage twice more before the first half expired to take a 3-1 edge into the break. Kayleigh Ross scored from the left post, while Johnson was able to convert on one of William and Mary's eight, first-half penalty corner opportunities.

The teams traded possessions for much of the second half, with neither squad able to find the cage for over 26 minutes of play. The Tribe broke the silence with a goal from Emma Clifton, taking a 4-1 lead.

The Lancers would not go silently, though, as Verhulst fed Burris a strong pass inside the circle, allowing Burris to beat the Tribe goalkeeper with a shot to the corner with less than three minutes to play. 

William and Mary totaled 17 shots compared to seven for Longwood in the 4-2 decision. The Tribe also forced more penalty corners, 10-1.

Tonight's contest marked the 10th meeting between the Tribe and the Lancers in the sport of field hockey. William and Mary is undefeated in the all-time series between the two squads.