FARMVILLE, Va. – With all of the accolades and wins the 2017 Longwood field hockey senior class has collected, it's only fitting they clinch a spot in the Mid-American Conference tournament with a 3-0 victory over Ball State on their special day.

Having already collected wins over potential tournament participants Appalachian State and Ohio, Longwood (11-3, 4-1 MAC) showed out and took care of business against Ball State (4-10, 0-4 MAC) to solidify their place in the upcoming conference tournament just three weeks down the road in front of a large contingent of family and Longwood faithful.

Just one week after setting a career-best mark with four goals on the season, senior captain and defender Lil-Sophie Achterwinter tallied her first two-goal performance Sunday and extend her career-best season offensively to six tallies. Both of Achterwinter's goals came on short corners after junior forward Leonie Verstraete broke the scoreless tie in the 14th-minute on her own penalty corner opportunity.

Of the eight seniors that were recognized before Sunday's game – Achterwinter, Kate Colley, Maddie Kendrick, Brenna Kinzel, Lorissa Morton, Edel Nyland, Abbey Ripley and Sarah Vrhovac – four had a hand in all three goals in Sunday's finale from Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field.

"It feels great, especially on senior day because we put three-and-a-half years of work into this so it feels great to get that last win on the home field," Achterwinter said.

Kinzel added, "I don't think words can sum up how much work we've put into this from preseason our freshman year to now. It's very well-deserved."

Maddie Kendrick, who tallied an assist earlier this season in the season opener, assisted on Verstraete's game-winner before Kinzel and Nyland got in on the passing party to grab assists on Achterwinter's second short corner with just seconds remaining on the clock.

With the shutout, Longwood has now won a program-best four MAC conference games while grabbing wins in eight straight senior day contests under the tutelage of 10th-year head coach Iain Byers.

Sunday's win was also the fifth shutout of the season for goalkeeper and team captain Katie Wyman, as she entered the contest with an already impressive 1.06 goal against average to lead the MAC. That mark also sat in the top-10 of the NCAA with a chance to climb even higher.

Not only does Wyman, Achterwinter, Morton and the Lancer defense lead the conference in goals against average, they also sit at the top in goals allowed (14) and save percentage (.763).

In the shutout win, the Lancers faced a season-low one shot while sending 14 at Ball State goalkeeper Grace Chavez, who collected three saves while allowing all three goals.

The Lancers put their 4-1 MAC record to the test as they head to three-time defending champion Kent State Saturday, Oct. 21 in their conference finale before taking on VCU for the second time this season.

"We want to show that we have a shot at winning this tournament. We want to show that against Kent State and I think that's what we're going to work on this week – to not let off the gas and keep pushing," Achterwinter said.

"We always hold them close, which is nice because this is our year to take it back from them," Morton added.

"We're definitely going to prepare to leave our mark on the MAC," Kinzel said.

Game time against the Golden Flashes is set for 12 p.m. from Kent, Ohio.

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