Longwood University Athletics

FARMVILLE, Va. – No. 20 ranked Miami used two third period goals to stay unbeaten, defeating Longwood 3-1 to continue their red-hot start and improve to 7-0 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Tied 1-1 over 43 minutes into the game, Mid-American Conference scoring leader Claudia Negrete struck again for the RedHawks, blasting home a shot through traffic to put Miami back in the lead, 2-1. Under a minute later, Leonor Berlie was awarded a penalty stroke following a scramble in front of the Longwood net, which she converted to extend the Miami lead to 3-1 where it would stay.
 
The offensive outburst offset a Longwood equalizer in the second quarter, as the Lancers rallied from a first quarter Miami goal to knot the game at 1-1- at the 21:46 mark. Karly Harwood redirected Luna Lopez's pass on a penalty corner past Miami goalkeeper Isabelle Perese for her team-leading second goal of the season. However, the three-time defending MAC Tournament Champions used their prolific offense to rally back in front and their stifling defense held off the Lancers.
 
"Miami is a tough team," said Longwood head coach Iain Byers. "They are ranked 20^th in the nation for a reason. I don't think the score line fully represents how the game was played, but we are disappointed with the outcome. However, we have a lot of season left and we are looking forward to the opportunity to improve."
 
All four goals in the game were a direct result of penalty corners, as Miami held a critical 10-1 edge in corner attempts in the game. As a team, the RedHawks outshot Longwood 10-1, including 6-0 in the pivotal third quarter.
 
Making her second start of the season, both against the preseason-favorite and high-scoring RedHawks, Lancer goalkeeper Madison Nuckols made a career-high seven saves. Saturday's performance marked the most saves by a Longwood goalie since Katie Wyman, the 2019 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, recorded seven stops against Ohio on Oct. 5, 2019.
 
Nuckols' counterpart in net, Isabelle Perese made two saves for Miami, as the sophomore improved her record to 7-0, the third most wins in all of Division I. Despite her strong showing.
 
Despite Perese's dominance in 2021, who entered the weekend series with Longwood on a three-game shutout streak, the Lancer offense was able to score on her in each game of the back-to-back set. Sophia Loscher and Harwood led the way for Longwood in game two, as each recorded a pair of shots.
 
Miami got on the board in the first quarter, as Neely Lochmoeller redirected Berlie's corner shot past Nuckols to give the RedHawks an early 1-0 lead.
 
The Lancers answered in the second with a redirected corner of their own, as Harwood got her stick on Lopez's entry to beat Perese and knot the game at 1-1. The Longwood defense, led by Ana Paula Lazaro, Kolbey Donahue, Rio Weber, Caroline Verhappen, allowed just one shot in the second quarter, bringing the game to halftime at 1-1.
 
The RedHawk offense woke up in the third, as they racked up six shots, four corners, and two goals to take control of the game. After Lochmoeller's entry pass was stopped by Luli Rosso, Negrete unleashed a blast through traffic and into the net for the game-winning goal. Berlie would add her penalty stroke goal moments later, as Miami held off the Longwood attack the rest of the way to secure the win.
 
After beginning their MAC slate with a pair of home series, the Lancers will hit the road from March 25-26 to take on Ball State in a back-to-back set.
 
#GoWood