RICHMOND, Va. – Opening with four straight games against Atlantic 10 opponents, Longwood women's lacrosse took no shortcuts to start the 2019 season.
 
But even though the Lancers have only one win to show from that four-game gauntlet, they learned a lot along the way.
 
In the last of those four non-conference challenges, Longwood (1-3) gave VCU a fight, but it wasn't enough as the Rams used six goals from Clare Murphy to pull away to an 18-13 win Wednesday afternoon at Cary Street Field.
 
"We definitely had individual bright spots today," Jones said. "We just need to continue to work to have everyone contributing and executing consistently all game at both ends of the field. It's an ongoing process, but playing four A-10 teams to start the season has given us great experience. We'll look to build on the lessons learned from these games as we move forward."
 
Murphy totaled a game-high eight points and led a VCU offense that also got four goals from Jessica Del Rossi and two apiece from Molly Barcikowski and Sofia Edmond. That all-around effort was enough for VCU (2-1) to build a seven-goal cushion and survive an end-game run that saw Longwood outscore the Rams 5-3 over the game's final 20:18.
 
"Our team definitely battled tonight for the entire game, but unfortunately we got in a hole early and had to spend the rest of the game working our way out of it," said Longwood head coach Elaine Jones. "What also hindered us was our lack of understanding of how to use our momentum and build on it to put pressure more squarely on the other team.
 
Both teams traded runs throughout the game, but VCU broke the game open with a 4-0 stretch early in the second half. Those four unanswered goals came in response to Longwood's back-to-back strikes to open the second half and turned a dwindling three-goal VCU lead to seven with 21:46 to play. Four different rams scored during that rally to give VCU its biggest lead of the game.
 
However, Longwood regrouped and responded shortly after with a 3-0 run sparked by Luccarelli and fellow junior Dana Joss, who both contributed one goal and an assist during that rally. The strike from Luccarelli was one of her three in the game and team-high 13 on the season, while Joss' was her first of three on the day.
 
Lancer sophomore Taylor Blenckstone joined Joss and Luccarelli with three goals, doing so to extend a first-year breakout for the sophomore who missed all of last season while recovering from injury. In her first four collegiate games – all starts – Blenckstone ranks second on the team with five assists and tied for third with six goals.
 
"We created multiple opportunities throughout the game where we caused a turnover and had VCU on the defensive," Jones said. "We just needed one more push, one more goal, to turn the tide in our favor, but in those moments we didn't quite execute, and VCU took advantage."
 
Sophomore captain Emma Johnson and freshman Nicole Fordyce also scored twice for Longwood, though Johnson was forced into an early exit after picking up a second yellow card with 20:37 to play.
 
The Lancers' 13 goals are the most VCU has allowed this season.
 
"The team has built up our chemistry, and it's shown on the field," said Luccarelli, whose ascent to the top of Longwood's scoring leaderboard follows her selection to the Preseason All-Big South Team this year.
 
"We took a tough loss in our first game of the year, but we've worked together to be more consistent. Being able to produce more on offense has helped us close the gaps on some of our other opponents. We're obviously not pleased with a loss, but we're aware of our mistakes and we'll keep working to improve them going forward."
 
On the defensive end, Longwood freshman goalkeeper Danielle Burke racked up a career-high 10 saves, doing so against a VCU onslaught that saw the Rams fire 28 of their 39 shots on goal.
 
"We had a lot of great moments that we need to tie together," said junior captain Jordan Howard. "In the future, we need to fully take advantage of momentum swings and capitalize on opportunities."
 
Longwood won the draw control battle 19-18, thanks in large part to a career-high 12 pickups from Howard. Those pickups accounted for more than 30 percent of the total draw controls in the game, nearly doubled her season total and moved her to the top of the team leaderboard with 25 this season.
 
"I thought Jordan did a phenomenal job on the draw," Jones said. "She has put in the extra time to improve on it, and that effort really showed today. Kaitlin put together an all-around solid performance on offense and defense as well while consistently helping out in transition."
 
Now with those four A-10 matchups in the rearview, Longwood will have four days to prepare for this Sunday's road game against upstart Wofford in Spartanburg, S.C. The game will be the first meeting between the programs after Wofford played its inaugural season in 2018.
 
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