FARMVILLE, Va. – Seniors Katie McHugh and Sarah Butler combined for 14 goals, as each tied career-highs in goals to lead Longwood women's lacrosse to a lopsided 20-4 victory over Presbyterian in the conference opener Saturday afternoon at the Athletics Complex.
 
McHugh led Longwood (5-5, 1-0) with eight goals, matching her career high vs. Presbyterian last season, to go along with one assist while Butler added six scores and two assists to help the Lancers start the Big South slate unbeaten. The win marked Longwood's ninth straight win vs. the Blue Hose dating back to their first matchup in 2008.
 
"We had a great all-around team performance," said Longwood head coach Elaine Jones. "It was nice to see such a consistently high level of intensity for both halves all over the field. Katie and Sarah kept the offense on track."
 
After facing their only deficit to start the game 1-0, the Lancers scored five straight goals sparked by three consecutive from senior attacker McHugh to put them ahead for good. McHugh's first three goals of the day came within a two minute span, which included one unassisted goal and set ups by Shiloh McKenzie and Andie DeCelis.
 
Longwood's game-changing scoring run also included another assist by Decelis, who finished the day with two helpers, on a goal by freshman midfielder Stephanie Roberts at the 13-minute mark. Fellow freshman Cassie Angeles followed with an unassisted goal two minutes later to give the Lancers a 5-1 lead which they never relinquished.
 
Presbyterian cut the deficit to its lowest of the afternoon off a goal from junior midfielder Jess Goergen. Goergen drew a foul inside the circle Longwood sophomore and then converted the free position shot moments later to bring the score to 5-2.
 
Following back-to-back Longwood goals with the second by Roberts and first of the day by Sarah Butler, Presbyterian's Cady Roberts responded with her own in an attempt to stop their momentum. The Blue Hose cut the Lancer lead to 7-3 with 2:18 in the half upon Roberts converting the squads second free position shot of the game.
 
However, McHugh proved that she and her teammates could not be denied with two goals in the final 1:49 of the half to give her five in the period. Each of her final goals of the period were set up by passes from her senior counterparts in Butler and Shiloh McKenzie to give them a 9-3 lead.
 
The two scores wound up igniting a stretch of 12 consecutive Lancer goals, including the second Butler-to-McHugh connection of the game to start the first half.
 
During the onslaught of goals that spanned the next 27 minutes, Longwood's leading scorer Sarah Butler came alive to put together her own five-goal half. Following a goal by McKenzie, Butler put in back-to-back goals after converting a free position shot and then finding her way past Presbyterian defenders for an unassisted score with 21:46 on the clock.
 
A product of Melbourne, Australia, Butler continued her second-half dominance with three straight goals in between the final pair of goals by McHugh. Butler gave her team a 17-3 lead at the 51-minute mark after another solo score, which came after the senior scored upon being set up by freshman teammate Roberts and converting her second free position shot of the game on the two goals prior.
 
With 3:44 to go in the game, Longwood widened the gap between them and the Blue Hose with goals from McHugh and Decelis within one minute of each other. McHugh hit the net on her 10th and final shot of the day and the sophomore Decelis added a score to her two assists on the day, as the Lancers went up 19-3.
 
Spending the day without their other top scorer in Madison Stair, who missed the game due to illness, the combination of Butler and McHugh showed it could shoulder the workload. The two seniors pushed their combined season totals to 62 goals and 48 assists on the year after Saturday's performance.
 
Entering the day tied third in the nation in assists, it was McHugh's ability to score that thrust Longwood to victory with another eight-goal effort in her final game against Presbyterian.
 
"I was lucky to come out and do that," said McHugh, who along with Butler is tied for the team lead in assists with 24. "I worked hard this week with the coaches to figure out how to get around this goalkeeper. It's a different starting goalkeeper than before and we worked hard all week to find a way to get going against her, so it was really an exciting day for us."
 
In addition, the senior duo was able to pull along others for ride in the high-scoring effort, as Longwood finished the day with seven different players scoring a goal. Aside from multiple scores from Butler, McHugh and Roberts, the Lancers received goals from McKenzie, Angeles, DeCelis and Riley Dolan.
 
"We had other players step in for Madison today," said McHugh. "Overall, our defense was great. In transition we played great and everyone played an important part in this game."
 
Aside from the scoring, the Lancer defensive unit led by junior goalkeeper Chelsea DiIonno put in a strong showing by holding Presbyterian to the lowest goal total by an opponent this season. DiIonno picked up her second straight win after making two saves and only allowing one goal in her 30 minutes of action after stepping in at the start of the second half.
 
"I think our defense played really well in that second half," said DiIonno. "We were able to communicate with each other and capitalize on any mistakes that our opponent made. I was really proud of my teammates for their efforts today."
 
In addition to stellar goalkeeping, Longwood's defense forced the Blue Hose into committing 21 turnovers on the day and limited the Blue Hose to only eight clears on 15 attempts. Longwood's seniors on defense provided a tight wall to prevent many Presbyterian opportunities, as McKenzie caused a game-high four turnovers while Madelynn Rollins and Kelly Ward each caused one en route to 13 as team.
 
On the attack, the Lancers turned the Presbyterian mishaps into extra scoring opportunities to finish with a 36-9 shot advantage on the day.
 
"We worked very hard this week on execution so it was nice to see the team be successful in so many areas," Jones said.
 
Longwood looks to continue its success in Big South play next weekend when it hosts Gardner-Webb on Saturday, March 24. The game is set for a 1 p.m. start.
 
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