MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Four days following its first-ever win against a top 25 opponent in an upset over No. 20 Liberty, Longwood field hockey scored three goals in the opening half and cruised to a 3-0 win over Central Michigan Saturday afternoon at the CMU Field Hockey Complex.

The red-hot Lancers continued its historic start to the 2018 season with their fourth straight win, equaling its 5-1 start to the season from a season ago – the best-ever in the Division I era for the Lancers.

"We had a solid first-half performance, and then some of our connectivity drifted off a bit in the second half," said Longwood head coach Iain Byers. "We still secured the game and didn't give up many opportunities. We still hav a few things to work on, but there always are."

The win moves Longwood head coach Iain Byers within three wins of 100 of his Longwood career.

"We came out with a lot of energy because we knew it would be a tough game with it being our first conference game," said Cammy Toddy "We were able to score a couple of early goals and that progressed us through the rest of the game."

Leonie Verstraete gave Longwood the early lead, less than four minutes into the game with her fourth strike of the season. With her goal, Verstraete joins her former teammate Jennifer Burris in Longwood's all-time top 10 in career goals scored with 32 career markers.

Olivia Wawrzniak added her third marker of the season in the 19th minute, as she matched Verstraete with a game-high six shots. Less than four minutes after Wawrzniak doubled Longwood's advantage, Karly Harwood scored her first career goal to hand the Lancers all the offense it needed to open MAC play with a win.

"We showed up and played our game today," Wawrzniak said. "This is a great start to our conference season and it will just propel us as we move forward."

Katie Wyman recorded her second shutout of the season, as the Longwood backline of Rio Weber, Mia Leeman and Clara Meschini limited the Chipewas to four shots.The shutout for Wyman was her second of the season, spurring a Longwood defense that's leading the MAC with just five goals allowed in six games.

Abigail Ebersole made five saves on 19 shots faced to lead Central Michigan (1-7).

Longwood will look to stay hot while facing a quick turnaround to face Rutgers in a neutral site meeting Sunday, Sept. 16. First touch is set for 11 a.m.

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