FARMVILLE, Va. – The tide is turning for Longwood women's soccer. Just ask the Hampton Pirates.
 
In the first matchup between the two schools as members of the Big South, the Lancers (4-5-3, 2-1-2 Big South) opened the flood gates and produced a season-high five goal-scorers en route to their second straight win Wednesday evening at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
 
Propelled by a wave of momentum that crested during this past Saturday's 2-0 win over Presbyterian, Longwood set the program's Division I record Wednesday by firing 21 shots on goal and putting five of those from Sydney Wallace, Kaitlyn Cox, Emilie Kupsov, Sheyenne Stretz and Danielle Toone in the net.
 
"We've had this in us all year," said Stretz, whose goal in the 60th minute was her second of the season. "At practice, we've been pinging the ball around and playing hard, and [head coach Todd Dyer] came out today and said you need to come out and play hard, play fast and play as strong as possible in the first five and see if we can get one."
 
It took just 8:55 for that first goal to come, and once Wallace put Longwood on the board with her strike off senior captain Kathryn Miller's corner kick, the levee broke. Both Miller and sophomore Madison Lockamy played engineers to the onslaught, with Miller dishing a pair of assists over her 79 minutes on the field and Lockamy coming off the bench to contribute an assist of her own along with a team-high seven shots.
 
The historic performance came just four days after the Lancers righted their own ship by putting away Presbyterian 2-0 this past Saturday for their first Big South win of the year. Prior to that victory, Longwood opened conference play by settling for back-to-back 2-2 draws to UNC Asheville and Charleston Southern and a 2-1 loss to rival Radford.
 
However, Wednesday's win, according to Stretz, set Longwood on a new course.
 
"It affected us a lot because we were relieved to finally get the win we deserved all season," she said. "We were looking for that, and once we finally got one, we said, 'Alright, that's how we can play. Let's build off that, and let's keep moving forward.'
 
"Today we were texting each other all day saying, 'Are you ready to play?' It was the most hyped our team has been all season. Dyer sent us a motivational talk about us being together, and we came together tonight."
 
Longwood's performance Wednesday was among the most prolific of the program's Division I era, setting the record for that span with 21 shots on goal and racking up the second most goals and shots for that same period. Hampton goalkeeper Maya Andrews did her best to quell that surge, but even her career-high 15 saves weren't enough to keep the Lancers contained.
 
The rout came against a Hampton team that opened Big South play by stunning reigning Big South Champion High Point, forcing them to a 1-1 draw.
 
"We were able to put on a performance like that because of how much respect we have for Hampton and the amount of mental preparation we put into the gameplan," Dyer said. "In week one they showed the type of team they are with the result they earned against the reigning Big South champ.
 
"What I liked most is how we maintained a high level of play with our possession and creative attacking goal. We had a lapse defensively when we conceded the goal, and that's a good lesson to keep us focused moving forward."
 
That lone mishap for Longwood's backline came in the 59th minute when Hampton forward Sydney Jackson crossed the ball through Longwood's defense to the feet of Kynnedy Waldon, who corralled the ground pass and one-timed it past Lancer keeper Madison Van Dyke to cut Longwood's then-lead to 3-1.
 
Longwood quickly reclaimed hold of that momentum just 24 seconds later, however, when Stretz struck back by heading Miller's long cross past Andrews in the 60th minute to re-extend Longwood's lead to three goals.
 
The win vaults Longwood back into the top five of the Big South standings, matching High Point (2-1-2) and trailing Campbell (3-1-1), Radford (3-1), Winthrop (3-2) and USC Upstate (3-2). The Lancers' next opportunity to climb the leaderboard comes this Saturday, Oct. 6, on the road at USC Upstate.
 
Said Dyer, "We had a lot of positive moments and scored some great goals, so we'll enjoy this feeling for a night and then try to keep the momentum going into the weekend when we hit the road."
 
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