FARMVILLE, Va. – In a dominating effort on offense and defense on Wednesday afternoon, the Lancers used an early lead to down the Bulldogs.
 
On the strength of an early 5-0 advantage, Longwood's women's lacrosse team handed Bryant just their second defeat of the season in wire-to-wire fashion, 13-7, at Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field. Emma Johnson led the Lancers with four goals, while sophomore goalkeeper Danielle Burke was a brick wall in net, stopping 14 shots to earn her second win of the season.
 
With the win, Longwood (3-5) improved to 2-3 at home, where they average 13.2 goals per game including at least 13 goals in each of their last four games. The Bulldogs (4-2) entered the game 2-0 on the road, averaging 14 goals per game away from Smithfield, R.I., but were shut down by a stout Longwood defense on Wednesday—the Bulldogs turned the ball over 16 times, eight of which were caused by Lancer defenders.

"The team did a great job with their execution today," said head coach Elaine Jones. "After the last game, we made several adjustments and they definitely paid off as the team stuck to the game plan.

"We got out to a fast start with our goal scoring and didn't let up the entire game. Emma [Johnson] and Kaitlin [Luccarelli] led the charge on offense, with timely assists from Lexi [Davis]. Our defense also did their part as they held the fort behind Dani's [Burke] 14 saves."
 
Corri Calandra led the defensive charge for Longwood, causing a game-high three turnovers while scooping three ground balls. Along with fellow backline members Olivia Zubillaga and Jordan Howard, the Lancer defense held Bryant to 21 shots on goal.
 
Danielle Burke did the rest for the Lancers, stopping 14 of the 21 shots she faced to tie her career high in saves, while setting a new best for save percentage in a single game (.667). She was able to outduel Bulldog goalkeeper and NEC All-Rookie team member Giana Kapoosuzian, who recorded 11 saves while allowing 13 goals. Longwood also secured 20 ground balls, led by three apiece from Johnson, Claire Libby, Calandra, and Burke.
 
Offensively, Johnson's four tallies highlighted a Lancer offense that had six different goal scorers. Kaitlin Luccarelli notched a hat trick, while Haley Moomau and Molly Barkman eached tallied two goals. Dana Joss and Taylor Blenckstone each tallied goals to round out the scoring for the Lancers—Blenckstone's tally was the first of her season in her first start after making her season debut on March 7 against VCU. Lexi Davis added four more assists, extending her team-high to 20 assists this season.

"We are proud of the team for bouncing back from a disappointing loss a few days ago and using that loss to fuel their fire to get this win today," added Jones.
 
The Lancers got off to a lightning fast start, scoring the first five goals of the game from 25:17-21:15 in the first half to jump out in front, 5-0. Bryant's Caitlin Bolen, who led the Bulldogs with four goals, notched two first-half tallies, trading scores with Moomau and Barkman following the early Lancer run to end the first half with Longwood leading, 7-2.
 
Bryant notched the first goal of the second half less than a minute into the final frame, but Longwood answered with a game-sealing run. Leading 7-3, the Lancers opened up a 3-0 scoring stretch spearheaded by two goals from Johnson and a strike from Moomau to take a commanding 10-3 lead with 25:29 remaining. The Bulldogs were able to get within 10-5 with 19:10 remaining, but never any closer as Longwood cruised to a 13-7 final.
 
Longwood continues their home stand on Sunday, March 15 when they take on Saint Francis. Play is set to begin at 1 p.m.

#GoWood