WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sophomore Nicole Deckard/Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania notched her first goal of the 2013 season and the only goal of the day for the Longwood University field hockey team in a 7-1 loss at American University (3-1) on Sunday afternoon in Washington, D.C. Six different Eagles scored in the decision, including Alex McMackin, who led American with a pair of goals. Longwood (1-3) will return to action on Wednesday, September 11 when the squad welcomes in-state opponent James Madison University to the Athletics Complex in Farmville.

"Games like these are always tough to play," said head coach Iain Byers. "American is a strong team and we had a very strong first half performance. They made some adjustments that we couldn't deal with and it fell away from us in the second half. We always knew it would be a tough weekend and we've learned a lot of lessons from it. Unfortunately we came away with two losses, but it'll make us better for the future and for our NorPac games. We're going to make improvements before we take on JMU on Wednesday and App State on Saturday."

The Eagles notched their first goal of the day just over eight minutes into play, as Shelly Montgomery dribbled down the right side of the field on a breakaway before sending a shot towards the corner of the cage, giving her squad a 1-0 advantage. After almost 20 minutes of scoreless action, Longwood converted on a free hit opportunity. Sophomore Meghan O'Connor/Stafford received the hit from senior Stacey de Grandhomme/Cape Town, South Africa and found classmate Deckard across the cage for the hard shot on goal, knotting the game at 1-1. With less than two minutes remaining in the half, Isabel Terwindt collected the rebound after the initial shot during a corner play and tipped the ball back on goal to put American ahead, 2-1, at the half.

American controlled the momentum coming out of the break, scoring five more times in the second half to seal the decision. At 39:08, McMackin converted on a penalty stroke to make it 3-1 in favor of the home squad. The team's next two goals came on consecutive attempts within 47 seconds of one another, as the Eagles pulled away, 5-1. AU's final two goals of the outing came on penalty corner opportunities, securing the 7-1 outcome.

American outshot Longwood, 26-6, in the contest, and forced more penalty corners, 9-2. Senior Stacey de Grandhomme/Cape Town, South Africa paced the Lancers with a pair of shots. In addition to Deckard, sophomore Hollie MacDonald/Yorktown, sophomore Jennifer Burris/Virginia Beach and freshman Vanessa Tapper/Virginia Beach tallied one each. Freshman Lauren Bernard recorded 13 saves, a season-high for the Lancers, in her first start and complete-game performance as a Lancer.