FARMVILLE, Va. – Sophomore defender Briana Greene found the back of the net twice in the first half as the Longwood field hockey team fell short in their comeback bid against Commonwealth rival Richmond, falling 4-2 at Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field Saturday morning.

Greene's two-goal effort capped off a first half that saw a combined five goals between the Lancers and Spiders, the first three coming from Richmond.

Saturday morning's exhibition was the first action for Longwood after making their first MAC Championships appearance in just their third season as a member of the league.

"We had good moments," said 10th-year head coach Iain Byers. "We started off a little sloppy. You could tell it was Richmond's second game and our first, but we have another game tomorrow."

The early 3-0 Spider lead proved to be enough as Jessica Bishop tallied the final goal of the game just five minutes into the second half, the long tally over the final 35 mintues.

Saturday's two-goal performance from Greene were the first career netters for the sophomore defender, who fired off only seven shots as a freshman in 2016 with three coming on goal.

"It felt amazing," Greene said about her first career goal. "Today was my first goal so it felt really good to get one in the backboard, and my team was there for me."

Greene was able to convert twice in the circle, once after splitting defenders and firing a shot.

"Knowing that I just dribbled in the circle and got through people really boosted my confidence today," Greene said. "I really want to focus on building my confidence up and go for those 1v1s."

Longwood fired 25 shots in the contest with 13 on goal, while Richmond finished with 22 shots and 11 on goal.

Freshman goalkeeper Frankie Conklin stymied the Lancer attack swatting away 11 Longwood shots while allowing only two goals. Conklin faced an onslaught from the blue and white, but withstood the barrage for the win.

Longwood's Katie Wyman got the nod in net as she finished the day with seven saves on 11 Spider shots on goal, allowing four goals in her first action since 2015 when she made 10 appearances and made 39 saves.

Richmond's hot start came from ball control throughout most of the opening half, leading to opportunities and their first three tallies before Longwood was able to respond.

"I think our outlet passing was one of our weakest elements of our game today. We didn't move the ball effectively up the field with enough consistency," Byers said.

"There were probably two or three facets – the outlet passing, maybe our final third defending and our finishing at the other end. They're big points, but it's not like we were awful at those the whole game, there were just certain periods that we need to clean up," Byers said.

Longwood hits the road for their final preseason exhibition Sunday afternoon as they head to Charlotte, N.C. to take on Division II opponent Queens. The Lancers then have four days to prepare for the regular season-opener when Big East opponent Villanova comes to Farmville on Friday afternoon from Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field. Game time against the Wildcats is set for 4 p.m.

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