RICHMOND, Va. – On opening day, the only one who could stop Longwood women's soccer was Mother Nature.
 
In their season opener against Commonwealth rival Richmond Thursday, the Lancers got a pair of first-half goals from All-Big South forward Emilie Kupsov and freshman Gabby Young before lightning and rain ended the game prematurely with Longwood leading 2-1 at halftime at President's Field.
 
The game will not be resumed, negating Longwood's advantage and the goals from Kupsov – the 17^th of her career – and Young, her first.
 
"That was a lot of action for one half of soccer," said Longwood head coach Todd Dyer. "Richmond is a very athletic team, and I'm glad we were able to match up physically against that. Our defensive pressure led to both of our goals, but we fell asleep on the one we conceded. We also created some nice chances in the run of play, so offensively I'm encouraged."
 
Both goals from Kupsov and Young came from pressure inside Richmond's box as Longwood's frontline showcased an aggressive, up-tempo scheme. Kupsov struck first, blocking a clear attempt from Richmond goalkeeper Jessica Stanfill in front of the net and punching the loose ball into the lower left corner for a 1-0 lead 24:53 into the game.
 
Meanwhile, after Richmond knotted the score at 1-1 on Alyssa Walker's equalizer shortly after the ensuing kickoff, Young put Longwood back on top with her first career goal in the closing minutes of the half. Channeling Kupsov's go-ahead strike, both Young and sophomore Kaitlyn Cox smothered a Richmond effort to clear the ball out of their own territory, with Cox deflecting the attempt to a wide-open Young.
 
Those two goals were enough to keep Longwood on top at the half thanks to a stifling performance from Longwood's defense. Led by the veteran trio of Taylor Alvey, Carrie Reaver and Erica Sieben, the Lancers allowed Richmond just three shots on goal, of which freshman goalkeeper Mary Kate Levush stopped two.
 
The lone blemish on Longwood's afternoon was Richmond's six-second strike immediately following Kupsov's go-ahead goal midway through the first half. That goal came from midfielder Alyssa Walker, who took a pass from TJ Anderson and snuck it past Levush to briefly even the score at 1-1.
 
"We can certainly be sharper mentally and clean somethings up," Dyer said. "We will have to when we face a strong VCU program Sunday."
 
With Thursday's opener washed out, Longwood will get another shot to officially begin the 2019 season this Sunday, Aug. 25, with a home matchup against Atlantic 10 power VCU. That game will kick off at 7 p.m. at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
 
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