FARMVILLE, Va. – Richmond forward Lexi Prillaman drilled home a go-ahead free kick in the first half to spark the Spiders to a season-opening 3-0 win against Longwood Friday evening at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
 
Prillaman's bullet into the upper right corner in the 32nd minute gave the Spiders (1-0) all the cushion they needed to take down the Lancers (0-1) on opening night and avenge the 1-0 win Longwood pulled off in last year's meeting in Richmond. Lindsay Egbers and Alyssa Walker added back-to-back insurance goals within five minutes of each other in the second half to back a five-save shutout from sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Stanfill.
 
"In year's past we'd sit back against Richmond, absorb pressure and try to steal a goal and the result," said Longwood head coach Todd Dyer. "We're committed to a different approach this year because we want to achieve something that our program hasn't done yet. However, at the end of the day that's a score line that we have to own up to."
 
Richmond's three goals marked the most Longwood has allowed at home since a 3-3 draw against Presbyterian on Oct. 16, 2014 and the program's biggest margin of defeat at home since a 4-1 loss to No. 3 Virginia Tech on Sept. 9, 2014.
 
The loss comes on the heels of an 0-1-1 preseason for the Lancers, who deployed four newcomers in Friday's starting lineup. Three-time All-Big South selection Amanda Spencer carried Longwood up front with a team-high four shots, putting two of those on goal but coming away empty-handed from Stanfill's scoreless 90 minutes in the net.
 
"It's disappointing because I feel like we defended well during the flow of play, but none of that means anything if you concede on two set pieces and a rebound," Dyer said.
 
"To me those are blue-collar goals, and dealing with those situations is all about hard work. Tonight Richmond worked harder in critical moments and in critical areas of the field.  A performance like this won't win a championship, but as I told the team, we didn't play for a championship tonight.  That happens in November, so we just need to keep working and building until then."
 
Longwood matched Richmond with five shots on goal but gave up back-to-back goals in the 63rd and 67th minutes. Egbers scored the first of those, scooping up the rebound of a Maria Kirby save and poking it into an open net for a 2-0 lead. Just over four minutes later, Egbers set up another goal with a corner kick that Walker ricocheted to the right post for a 3-0 lead that stood until the final whistle.
 
The Lancers now have one week to prepare for one of the biggest annual events on Longwood's campus, the seventh edition of The Greatest Athletics March Ever (The G.A.M.E. 7.0) that will feature a Lancer showdown against 2015 Conference USA championship game participant Marshall. Longwood will square off against the Thundering Herd at 7 p.m. next Friday, Aug. 26 in the culmination of the university's annual march and school year kickoff celebration.
 
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