OXFORD, Ohio – For the second time in a week, the Longwood field hockey team made history.
 
The Lancers collected their first Mid-American Conference Tournament win, defeating Ball State 3-0 on Thursday morning at the Miami Field Hockey Complex. With the win, Longwood advances to the semifinals for the first time since 2017 where they will face No. 1 seed Kent State, who they defeated 2-1 in double-overtime on the last game of the regular season Nov. 2.
 
Three different Lancers scored, led by Karly Harwood's 10^th of the season coming on the heels of her first All-MAC honor on Wednesday morning. Fellow All-MAC second team member Charlotte Wilm opened the scoring, and freshman Floor Schouten closed it in the game's final minutes. MAC Defensive Player of the Year Katie Wyman was sharp, recording her seventh shutout of the season in Longwood's historic win.
 
"I am very proud of the fight and discipline that we showed as a team," said head coach Iain Byers." Huge growth, not only from this group but from the proceeding groups to get to this point with our first MAC tournament win. It shows who we are as a group and who we are as a program, and the people who have gotten us to this point to be as successful as we are deserve thanks as well."
 
The win avenged a regular season defeat at the hands of Ball State, as Longwood worked quickly to make sure the result would be different the second time around. Wilm opened scoring in the fourth minute of play to give the Lancers a lead they would never relinquish. In total, Longwood outshot the Cardinals 12-5, as Wyman saved all three Ball State shots that reached the cage. Defensively, the Lancers backline of All-MAC First Team member Luna Lopez, Clara Meschini, and Rio Weber did well to stymie the Cardinal offense throughout the game.
 
Waiting for the Lancers in the semifinals is Kent State, who won a share of the regular season MAC title but could not capture it outright thanks to Longwood's double-overtime win in their most recent meeting. The Golden Flashes (10-8, 5-1 MAC) enter with five All-MAC members, second only to Longwood's six.
 
"Kent State is going to be a great game," added Byers. "They are a tough team. We know that we can compete with them—we will get a good 24 hours of rest and show up tomorrow. I believe the team will perform at the level we need to."
 
Wilm's opening goal came on a rebound—senior Olivia Wawrzyniak fired a shot that was saved by Ball State goalkeeper Wietske Overdijkink, and the ball bounced towards Wilm who was able to fire a shot past a Kent State defender into a vacant Cardinal net to give Longwood an early 1-0 lead.
 
Harwood doubled the lead to 2-0 when All-MAC midfielder Sophia Loscher played a perfect pass through her legs in the arc to the junior, who made no mistake to give the Lancers a big insurance goal. Floor Schouten capped the scoring for the Lancers when she redirected a shot by Briana Greene to bring the final score to 3-0.
 
"This first win in the MAC tournament really means a lot to us," said Harwood, who leads the team with 10 goals. "Making history is always great, but we want to peak at the end of the season and I think we are doing just that. I am really proud of our team, and we are looking forward to tomorrow."
 
Longwood will look to advance to their first MAC Championship game when they take on Kent State on Friday, Nov. 8. Play will start at 11:30 a.m.
 
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