WASHINGTON, D.C. – Coming into Sunday's game, Longwood field hockey head coach Iain Byers said No. 25 nationally-ranked American was one of the toughest opponents the Lancers had on their schedule in a few seasons. Sunday afternoon in the nation's capital, Byers and the Lancers proved they can compete with some of the best programs in the nation.

In a game that saw all five goals scored after halftime, Longwood (9-2, 2-0 MAC) matched American's (9-3, 3-0 Patriot League) first two blows to force a decisive overtime period for the first time since the season opener when Longwood knocked off Villanova from the Big East.

This time, however, the Lancers fell just shy of pulling one of the biggest upsets in the Division I era as American used two penalty corners in the opening three minutes of the first overtime period to fend-off the upset-minded Lancers and escape with a 3-2 overtime victory.

"We always knew it was going to be a tough game and we're proud of the fight shown throughout the entire 70 minutes to take them to overtime," said Byers, who has the Lancers playing with extreme confidence after their five-game win streak and battle with a ranked foe on the road. "We played very well – moved the ball around well and created some opportunities and we fought the whole game."

Senior defender and captain Lil-Sophie Achterwinter added, "I think the team performed really well. American was a tough opponent to play against but we made the most of it. We showed that we are able to compete with these teams. Overtime games are always tough, especially losing them because you put so much work in to get there."

On a final play that saw a huge scrum for a loose ball around the cage, Annaka Groschinski was able to poke in the decisive goal as the Eagles avoided the upset loss at home for their second 3-2 win in as many days.

"It's always tough to lose in overtime but we came to American's home field and showed we are a team to be reckoned with. The resilience and fight we showed today is what we know we'll need going forward," said senior forward Edel Nyland, who got the Lancers on the board in the 60th-minute.

The overtime stage was set after junior forward Leonie Verstraete, who has five game-winning goals this season, punched in a penalty corner as time expired to knot the game at 2-2 and force the golden goal period. The clutch goal came after the Lancers forced two such penalty situations with zeros on the clock, leaving a goal-or-go-home situation for the Utrecht, Netherlands, native.

Verstraete's game-tying tally was her team-leading 11^th of the season and her seventh over the past four contests. During that hot stretch, the Lancers have outscored opponents 14-5 while picking up two crucial conference wins.

Joining Verstraete in the scoring column was fellow forward Nyland, who fired the first game-tying goal of the afternoon with just 10 minutes left in regulation answering American's first blow. After Haley Bowcutt had forced a 1-v-1 situation in the circle on the other end, Nyland came back moments later with a rocket from the top of the circle to knot the score at 1-1.

"Coach Byers has been emphasizing that we would rather have a performance like this than a result, and today we competed equally with a top team. Katie (Wyman) was great in goal, our defense was relentless, midfielders were tenacious and forwards took chances when we got them," Nyland said.

Longwood was able to match American shot-for-shot throughout the contest, but it was the penalty corners that made the difference in the end as the Eagles converted two of their six chances for their second and third goals.

"This was a good competition to prepare us for the upcoming weekend with two tough conference games and we're going to take a lot away from today," Achterwinter said.

The hard-fought loss ends the Lancers' season-best five-game win streak as they prepare for their final four MAC games with three coming on the road. Beginning that journey is a trip to Ohio Friday night followed by a visit to Miami (Ohio) Sunday afternoon as the Lancers look to rebound inside conference play and push for a second consecutive MAC Championships appearance.

"Obviously we're disappointed we didn't get the result because we were so close, but lots of lessons were learned today," Byers said. 'We're ready to get back into the meat of the MAC and excited to take those lessons forward."

Nyland added, "Sometimes going into conference play, a hard loss against a good team isn't a bad thing to keep us grounded and keep us working. We will learn from today, rest tomorrow, and come into practice Tuesday ready for a hard week of work ahead of next weekend's two conference games."

Game time against the Bobcats is set for 5 p.m. Friday while Sunday's contest against the RedHawks is slated for a 1 p.m. start time.

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