Box Score

FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood University field hockey team defeated Liberty University (3-4), 3-1, in the squad's first Northern Pacific Field Hockey (NorPac) Conference contest of the season on Tuesday evening at the Athletics Complex in Farmville. Freshman Jennifer Burris|Virginia Beach (Kemspville) led the Lancers (2-7) with one goal and one assist in the outing. Longwood returns to action on Saturday, September 22, when the team travels to Richmond for a 1 p.m. tilt.

“To get our first conference win against as strong of an opponent as Liberty is always a good start,” said head coach Iain Byers. “They have made huge strides forward as a program from last year to this year. We feel that they are going to be very competitive, so we're really excited and looking forward to the return game at Liberty, and hope we can have a similar result, but we know it's going to be a tough game.”

Junior Stacey de Grandhomme|Cape Town, South Africa (Table View) and freshman Kim Ruiter|Huizen, The Netherlands (Luzac College) added to the offensive effort for the Lancers with one goal apiece, while senior Christina Verhulst|Yorktown (Grafton) recorded two assists. Senior Kaity Byrum|Suffolk (Lakeland) posted one assist of her own in the outing, as well. Freshman goalkeeper Meg Mitchell|Allentown (Emmaus) recorded the win in the cage for Longwood, registering two saves in the complete-game performance.

Longwood controlled the pace of play in the first half, outshooting Liberty, 7-2. The Lancers, who forced four penalty corners compared to two for the Flames in the first 35 minutes, broke the game open when Verhulst dished a pass across the front of the cage to Burris near the right post for the tip-in goal with just over 15 minutes left in the period. Longwood's defense, anchored by Mitchell, held off the Flames' attack for the remainder of the half, taking the 1-0 lead into the break.

The Lancers offense went to work quickly coming out of halftime, scoring two goals less than one minute apart. Just over 10 minutes into the second half, Longwood converted on a direct penalty corner opportunity. Burris inserted the ball to Byrum, whose clean stick stop allowed de Grandhomme to fire a hard shot past the Liberty keeper. Ruiter quickly followed with a goal of her own, as she tipped in a deep pass from Verhulst to give the Lancers a 3-0 advantage.

Liberty got on the board with less than seven minutes to play, as Sarah Gipe collected a rebound off of Mitchell's pads and redirected the ball into the cage. The teams battled back and forth in the last minutes of the game, but Longwood held on to take the 3-1 win.

The Lancers outshot the Flames, 13-7, in the victory and had a slim, 7-6, advantage in corner opportunities. Tonight's contest marked just the second meeting ever between Longwood and Liberty in the sport of field hockey and the first meeting as conference opponents. The Lancers hold a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series.