Buies Creek, N.C. – Longwood senior defender Shiloh McKenzie hit the game-winning goal with 34 seconds remaining in the game to thrust Longwood women's lacrosse to a thrilling 13-12 victory over Campbell Saturday afternoon in the regular season finale at Barker-Lane Stadium.
 
McKenzie, who finished the game with three goals for the fourth time in six games, capped off a comeback staged by the Lancers (8-9, 4-4 BSC) with two scores over the final 8:48 to help them overcome a four-goal deficit and deliver a shocking loss to the Camels (9-8, 5-3 BSC). The win marks the fifth straight of the series for Longwood vs. Campbell dating back to the 2013 season.
 
"I was really excited to get that goal. I saw the opportunity and took it," said McKenzie, Longwood's fourth-leading goal scorer. "I was glad to score it, but it was a total team effort as well. I'm lucky to have a great team and coaching staff behind me. We've worked extremely hard all year and it was awesome to end the regular season on a high note."
 
Longwood found itself trailing 11-9 in the game's final 11 minutes before outscoring Campbell 5-1 to end the game. Sophomore midfielder Madison Stair kicked off the goal-scoring spree after being fed by Katie McHugh at the 49-minute mark, which was followed by the second score by McKenzie and another by Riley Dolan within a five-minute span to even the score at 11-11.
 
After assisting on Dolan's game-tying goal, senior midfielder Sarah Butler gave the Lancers their first lead of the game with her goal in the 55th minute to cap off a stretch of four straight goals for the Lancers. Butler drew a foul and then converted the ensuing free position shot she was awarded to put her squad up 12-11.
 
Freshman midfielder Melissa Placek brought Campbell even with Longwood at 12-12 with 2:18 remaining on the clock.
 
On the ensuing draw, Butler won her sixth and most crucial draw of the day to give the Lancers possession with just over two minutes left on the clock. Longwood immediately called a timeout to regroup and set up for one final scoring opportunity.
 
In the final minute, sophomore midfielder Andie DeCelis gave the Lancers an extra possession after collecting a groundball that followed Campbell goalkeeper Meredith Bechler's save on a shot attempt by Stair. Twelve seconds later, McKenzie gave the Lancers their second lead to complete a phenomenal last-minute win.
 
Campbell's chances to quickly go down the field and tie the game were shattered when Stair gained possession on the final draw of the game for Longwood following its final timeout. McKenzie scooped up a loose ball during the final possession and the blue and white then let the clock run down.
 
"The team really earned this win and we're so proud of them," said Longwood head coach Elaine Jones, who is in her fourth year at Longwood. "They were down by four goals in both halves, but they didn't roll over and give up."
 
At the beginning of the second half, Longwood overcame a 9-5 lead with three straight goals to pull to within one after McHugh's was assisted by Decelis on her third goal of the day at the 38-minute mark. McKenzie found the net for the first time on a free position shot and Butler added an unassisted score in an 8-minute span to cut the deficit to 9-8.
 
Sophomore attacker Kayla Reilly helped assist on Campbell senior attacker Loren Day's third goal of the first half and again on sophomore midfielder MacKenzie Koeller's lone goal of the game to put the Camels up 7-3.
 
In response to the pair of Camel goals, Longwood responded with back-to-back goals of its own from Stair and McHugh to pull within two goals with 8:43 remaining in the first period. Stair netted a solo goal for her second of the day while McHugh followed with her second goal on a free position when the Lancers were playing with a man-up advantage.
 
Overall, the Lancers enjoyed their best scoring performance in their last three games with hat tricks from three different players while also finishing the day with four multiple goal scorers. In addition to McKenzie's trio of goals, McHugh and Stair each netted three goals, and Butler added two to round out the list of players with at least two goals.
 
In the win, Longwood's top-three goal scorers in Butler, McHugh and Stair, became the first trio of players in the school's Division I era to each record 40-plus goals in a season.
 
Meanwhile, Butler's two-goal, one-assist outing gave her three points on the day and moved her into third on the program's all-time career points list with 217. The senior captain, who entered the day second in the nation in points, pushed her season total to 86.
 
The national leader in points, McHugh had a four-point performance on three goals and one assist to her program single-season points record to 91. She is now two points away from becoming Longwood's all-time career points leader.
 
On the attack for Campbell, the Big South's leading goal scorer in Loren Day netted a game-high five goals while also adding two assists. The senior attacker, who entered the game second in the nation in goals, was one of six Camels to find the net.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Imani West recorded 14 saves for the second straight contest, including stops on all three of Campbell's free position shots, to match her career-high set vs. High Point in the squad's last outing. West also caused one turnover and scooped up one ground ball in 60 minutes to pick up her fifth win of the year.
 
"Inspired by Imani's saves, they dug deep and battled back, which showed great mental toughness and determination," Jones said.
 
Behind West's inspired performance in one-on-one situations, the Lancers held a 3-0 advantage in free position goals on the day. Butler, McHugh and McKenzie each successfully converted free position shots in the game, which proved to be a huge factor in the end.
 
Throughout the game, Longwood showed improved ball control all over the field to finish with a season-low eight turnovers as a team. On the other hand, the Lancer defensive unit forced six Campbell turnovers on the day, led by Madelynn Rollins' team-high two caused turnovers.
 
The Lancers end the regular season with a .500-or-above record in Big South play for the fourth time in as many seasons as a member of the conference. The blue and white now finishes the season in sixth place in the conference standings due to the fifth-place tiebreaker that goes to Liberty, who topped Longwood in their matchup earlier in the year.
 
After suffering the loss, Campbell ends its regular season with a 5-3 record in conference play. Despite dropping its final game, however, the Camels hold the third-place tiebreaker over Coastal Carolina after they beat the Chanticleers this season.
 
"We were all so happy to get the upset and now it's time to get back to work to prepare for our next game," McKenzie said.
 
Longwood is projected to return to Buies Creek, N.C., for the first round of the 2016 Big South Tournament hosted by Campbell on Saturday, April 30.
 
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