Game Notes

FARMVILLE, Va. – It's finally here. After a long wait since the announcement of Longwood's move to the Mid-American Conference as an affiliate member in field hockey, the time for MACtion is finally upon the blue and white.

Longwood (2-2) opens conference play with a two-day road swing in Ohio. The Lancers face defending MAC champions, Miami (Oh) (0-5), Saturday morning to kick off the MAC slate before traveling to Athens, Ohio to take on the Ohio Bobcats Sunday afternoon. For Longwood and head coach Iain Byers, the whole season has been leading up to this moment.

"The non-conference games have been great preparation for us," the seventh-year head man said. "We have played a range of opponents that all play different styles and we expect this to aid us in our preparation. Every game we have seen improvement and we expect that to continue into this weekend."

Scouting Miami

The Redhawks come into Saturday's matchup 0-5 on the young season. The record, however, does not tell the true story of the two-time defending MAC champions. Miami has played a slate consisting of Syracuse, Northwestern, Ohio State, Maryland and Virginia, all of whom, minus Ohio State, are ranked in the top-13 of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll.

"Miami's first 5 games have been against some of the strongest opposition in the country," Byers said. "So I think the 0-5 record does not necessarily reflect the actual level of the team. They are well coached and have seen success in the MAC, winning it the past two years. We know that it will be a tough game, but all of the MAC games are, that is why we joined the conference."

The Redhawks are a tough team to get a handle on; statistically, they have scored only five goals through their first five contests. Geagy Pritchard has a pair of goals to lead Miami, but the Redhawks have a number of other dangerous attacking options. Senior Ali Froede returns after being selected for First-Team All-MAC honors in 2013, scoring nine goals and racking up 21 points to lead the Redhawks.

Longwood and Miami squared off in Farmville last year with the Redhawks taking home a 4-1 victory. Longwood last traveled to Oxford, Ohio back in 2012, playing what turned out to be a wild game. Longwood took a 3-0 advantage at the 13-minute mark before Miami came roaring back to claim a 6-4 decision. Longwood has never beaten Miami in the teams' previous three meetings.

Scouting Ohio

The back half of the weekend trip sees Longwood take on the Bobcats of Ohio. Ohio is currently 0-3 after dropping to Boston University, Syracuse and California. The Bobcats take on Ohio State Friday night before turning their attention to Longwood on Sunday.

Ohio finished fourth in the MAC regular season standings a season ago, earning a berth in the conference semifinals.

"Ohio is going to be a tough second game, but we have played back to back games before so we know how to manage our recovery," said Byers.

The Bobcats are led in scoring by Maria Russell with two of Ohio's three goals. The other Bobcat goal came courtesy of Adele Sammons and all three goals were scored in the season-opener against Boston University.

Getting Off to a Quick Start

This weekend is crucial to Longwood's hopes of making the MAC championships. Last season, the fourth-place Ohio Bobcats were 3-3 in conference play and earned the final spot in the championships. Longwood will play two of its six conference contests this weekend and both of the games come against tournament teams from 2013. A strong weekend would position the Lancers well for a postseason charge.

"Coming away from this weekend with good performances and results is important to the post season and I know that the team is ready for the challenges." Byers said.

Live Stats are available for both games and the links can be found on LongwoodLancers.com. Follow @lancersfh for updates all weekend long.