FARMVILLE, Va. – Janese Quick hammered in the game-winning goal in the 59th minute to lift Longwood to a 1-0 win over UMBC Sunday afternoon at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
 
Quick's game-winner was set up by a pinpoint pass from senior Gina D'Orazio and backed the first clean sheet of the season for the Lancers (2-5-0), who returned to their home field for the first time since Aug. 26. It was the second career goal for the Orange Park, Fla., native, who has been a fixture of Longwood's midfield over the past two seasons.
 
"I actually had the same play right before that, but I didn't get the ball so I wasn't sure if I should make the run again," Quick said. "I did, Gina got it to me, and I took the hardest shot I could."
 
Quick's bullet traveled 20 yards on a line, ricocheting off the bottom of the cross bar and into the back of the net. The go-ahead score stood to the final buzzer and snapped a difficult early stretch for the Lancers, who had dropped three of their five losses by one goal, including this past Thursday's 1-0 defeat at American.
 
"It was just a change in mentality today," Quick said. "We're just tired of losing."
 
That mental shift produced a stifling defensive effort and the first shutout of the season for junior goalkeeper Maria Kirby, whose last save came with just 1:57 left on the clock on a header to the left of the net by Gabby Boehmer. Kirby corralled the late game-tying attempt in traffic amid a flurry of late Retriever takes at the Lancer net, the last of which came off the foot of Boehmer and was blocked with just 26 seconds left on the clock.
 
"It feels great to earn our first home win and our first shutout both in the same match," said head coach Todd Dyer. "We've played in a lot of tight games that haven't gone our way, so it's important for our players to experience that winning feeling and see some of the payoff of their hard work."
 
The win came after a four-game road stretch in which the Lancers bookended three losses around a 2-1 upset win over reigning Atlantic 10 champion Duquesne on Sept. 2. The momentum from that win was short-lived on the road, preceding a 3-1 loss at Youngstown State a week ago and a 1-0 defeat at American Friday, but the Lancers got back on track with trademark defense and Quick's timely goal Sunday afternoon.
 
Longwood allowed UMBC just two shots on goal throughout the 90-minute affair, thanks in large part to the marathon defensive efforts from Jayden Metzger and Sydney Wallace. Those two played every second of the hard-fought 90-minute affair and choked a UMBC attack that managed just one shot on goal after halftime.
 
While Wallace anchored the backline from her usual right side, the senior Metzger did her work at center back for the first time in her career. The new alignment was enough to propel the Lancers to their best defensive performance of the season, surrendering their fewest shots on goal since holding UNC Asheville to just one on-target attempt in a 1-0 win on Oct. 24, 2015.
 
"We had some players in the new positions all over the field, and I thought they all adjusted well and embraced some of these new roles," Dyer said. "Jayden was playing center-back for the first time alongside Sydney, and she was rock solid."
 
The Lancers also moved D'Orazio back up front for the first time this season, returning the three-year starter and former Big South All-Freshman Team selection back to the position she occupied for her entire career before switching to the defensive end as a senior. The move paid off when she found Quick for the game-winner 59th-minute game-winner, earning her 13th career assist in the process.
 
"There was a real quality build-up with our goal, and Janese did a great job timing her run from central midfield and arriving at the right time," Dyer said. "Gina made a great pass, and Janese took a great first touch and just hammered it into the roof of the net. She's wired and built for that type of goal, so hopefully there's a few more like that on the horizon."
 
The new-look Lancers will have just two days to prepare for their biggest test of the season, a Tuesday showdown at No. 17 Virginia Tech. That matchup marks the third straight year the Lancers have faced the ACC powerhouse Hokies and will be game one of a Longwood soccer doubleheader in Blacksburg, kicking off at 4 p.m. to precede the Lancer men's soccer team's 7 p.m. showdown against the Hokies shortly after.
 
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