FARMVILLE, Va. – Senior Stacey de Grandhomme/Cape Town, South Africa scored once in each half to lead the Longwood University field hockey team to a 2-1 victory against Saint Joseph's University (0-2) in the squad's season opener on Saturday at the Athletics Complex. After more than 27 minutes of scoreless play, the winning goal came late in the second half during a player-down situation for the Lancers. Longwood (1-0) will return to action on Monday, September 2 when the squad hosts Miami (Ohio) at 12 p.m. in Farmville.

"It was a really tough game for both teams," said head coach Iain Byers. "We played good hockey at times and we're obviously very happy to come out with a win. We fought very hard throughout the game and stuck to our game plan. I think we could have been a bit more efficient in front of the cage, but it was a good game. It was exciting for the fans, and a little bit nerve-wracking for the team, but we came out on top. To score a goal with a player down shows a lot of fight, tenacity and determination by the team. That's a lot of the things we've been working on, so we're very proud of that as a coaching staff. I think this is a good platform to start off on.

"Miami is the No. 1 ranked team in the [Mid-American Conference], so it's going to be a tough game Monday. They play Radford tomorrow, so we'll see how that game goes. We're confident we can start the season off on a high."

The Hawks threatened to strike first in the early minutes of the contest with a tip that bounced off the crossbar and a hard shot that sailed wide. de Grandhomme notched the first shot of the day for Longwood, but she lost her footing and the attempt skidded wide right. The Lancers would quickly get on the board with a 1-0 advantage, however, as de Grandhomme collected a loose ball and dribbled down the field alone before making a move to the left to beat the opposing keeper and taking a shot back across the cage that found the far right corner for the goal at 13:34.

In the following minutes, the teams combined for three corner opportunities, but neither squad was able to convert. Longwood came close to extending its margin when freshman Lindsey Lysher/Fredericksburg sent a shot behind the keeper and towards the corner of the cage, but SJU's Eva Gekas made a good defensive save to extinguish the opportunity. In the final minutes of the period, junior Jessica Diaz/Chesapeake found the back of the cage, but her shot was called off, keeping the score 1-0 at the half.

Saint Joseph's pushed the attack coming out of the break, and earned a penalty corner. After a fake shot by a teammate, Nicole Gerdes passed to Sarah Yerk for the shot on target, knotting the score at 1-1. The evenly-matched teams continued to battle with neither side able to break the stalemate for more than 27 minutes. Longwood's opportunities included a solid shot by sophomore Kim Ruiter/Huizen, The Netherlands that was batted away by SJU's keeper Rachel Barnett and a tip from sophomore Nicole Deckard/Selinsgrove, Pa. that spun wide. The difference-maker came with just under five and a half minutes remaining, as Longwood, playing down one because of a yellow card, forced a corner and converted on the opportunity. Sophomore Jennifer Burris/Virginia Beach inserted the ball to Diaz for the stick stop before de Grandhomme ripped a hard shot past the opposition to give the Lancers a 2-1 edge. Longwood played strong defense in the final minutes, led by sophomore Emily Leonard/Virginia Beach and senior Caitlin Smith/Hampton, to seal the decision.

Longwood outshot Saint Joseph's, 14-10, and forced more corners, 5-3. de Grandhomme had a team-best six shots, while freshman Ellen Ross/Virginia Beach and Burris added two apiece. Senior goalkeeper Kaye Goulding/Tickhill, England logged five saves in the victory. Jordan Martin led the Hawks with four shots.

Saturday's contest marked the third meeting ever between Longwood and SJU in the sport of field hockey. The Hawks still hold a slight, 2-1 advantage in the all-time series.