FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood field hockey team treks to Harrisonburg for a Friday night showdown as the Lancers look to topple James Madison for the first time in program history.  

After splitting a pair of games in Lowell, Mass. last weekend to open the season, the Lancers return to the commonwealth to face the Dukes. Friday's contest marks the fifth consecutive year the two schools have met on the turf. All told, Longwood and James Madison have clashed 13 times, with the Dukes taking every meeting thus far.

"JMU is always a tough opponent, but we always play well against them," said junior forward Jennifer Burris.

Burris is indeed correct as the Lancers and Dukes have a history of playing thrilling contests, especially recently. Last year's 4-2 defeat aside, Longwood has taken JMU into overtime twice in the past three years, falling 3-2 in 2012 and 1-0 in 2011. That gives the Lancers confidence that they can play with the Dukes.

"I look forward to this weekend," said Burris. "We want to show JMU and everyone else that we are a different and better team. We will have to work very hard, but I know that we are capable of beating them, every year we get closer and closer."

That sentiment rings true throughout the program as Longwood continues searching for the breakthrough moment against the Dukes.

"Every year we have a very competitive game with JMU and we expect the same this year," said head coach Iain Byers. "They are one of the stronger Virginia schools and we know that we can compete with them."

While Longwood and James Madison are familiar opponents, the Lancers are expecting a few new wrinkles as the Dukes welcome back an old-but-new head coach in Christy Morgan.

"They have a new coach this year and we expect to see some new things," Byers said, "but we have a well prepared game plan that we have been working on all week, so we hope to follow through on it."

Morgan led the JMU program for nine years in the '90s. The three-time national champion and All-American at Old Dominion took the JMU program to new heights, claiming its first-ever national championship in 1994. At James Madison, Morgan holds a 133-66-2 record all-time.

After opening the season 1-1 last weekend, Longwood is looking to improve on both sides of the ball heading into week two.

"After last week's games, we've focused on improving our defensive structure to reduce the number of opportunities we give up," Byers stated. "We also have to be more clinical in front of cage, we have created a lot of opportunities but need to finish more of them."

Again, Byers and his players are in lockstep.

"I'm looking forward to implementing everything we've worked on this week," said Burris. "We've improved on a lot of things and have a great plan. So I'm excited to go out and execute."

Longwood may still be searching for its first victory over JMU, but confidence has never been higher.

The Lancers and Dukes are set for a 7 p.m. tip-off at the JMU Field Hockey Complex. Live stats are available for Friday night's game and you can follow @LancersFH for updates.