WASHINGTON, D.C. – American used second-half offensive surge to beat Longwood women's lacrosse 20-12 on a rainy Wednesday afternoon at Jacobs Recreational Complex in Washington, D.C.
 
Tied at 7-7 at halftime, the Eagle offense came out scorching hot in the second half, opening up a 12-1 run over the first 15:58 of the final period. Two American attackers tallied seven goals, led by Emma Vinall's seven goals and nine points.

"I thought we came out sharp to start the game, but silly mistakes led to turnovers, which American capitalized on, and those turnovers disrupted our momentum," said Longwood head coach Elaine Jones. "Unfortunately we couldn't put two halves together and in the second half, we allowed three of their players to dominate the game. That dominance was all American needed to pull ahead and stay ahead."
 
An Inside Lacrosse Media All-American in 2020 after ranking first in all of Division I in goals (42), goals/game (6.0), Vinall has continued her torrid scoring pace into 2021. The senior has now tallied at least five goals in three-consecutive games, and has totaled 33 goals in just five games for the Eagles (1-4).
 
American attacker Erica Skowron set a new career-high and matched Vinall with seven goals, including five in the pivotal second half. Kendall Goldblum added four goals for American, while Casey Harkins picked up a game-high five assists—Harkins led Division I in total assists in 2020 with 34 in seven games.
 
The second-half offensive charge offset a Longwood effort in which three players recorded hat tricks for the second consecutive game, led Claire Libby's career-high four goal game. Haley Moomau also scored four times, while Dana Joss added three goals and three assists.
 
The Lancers (1-7) got off to a fast start on Wednesday, as Longwood scored the first four goals of the game as they lead 4-0 at the 20:29 mark. Moomau needed less than 10 minutes to tally her first hat trick of 2021, the fastest a Lancer has hit the three-goal mark in 2021. However, the American offense rallied to score seven of the next ten goals, bringing the game to a 7-7 tie at halftime.
 
The American offense clicked from the jump in the second half, opening the period on a 4-0 run over the first 4:20 to take an 11-7 lead. After Libby stopped the Eagle run at the 23:59 mark to cut the lead to 11-8, American responded with what proved to be a game-sealing run.
 
The Eagles scored eight consecutive goals over the next 10:35, giving American a 19-8 lead with 13:12 to play. Skowron and Vinall each tallied three goals during that stretch, with Goldblum picking up two.

Longwood would rally to score four of the final five goals of the match, as Libby scored three goals in the final 11 minutes of action bringing the final score to 20-12. In total, American held the edge in shots 35-22, draw controls 20-14, and ground balls 18-13. 

"We need to continue to work on executing for 60 minutes while staying mentally focused and aggressive on both ends of the field for the whole game, not just bits and pieces," added Jones. 

The Lancers return home to wrap up their non-conference slate on Monday, March 29 against Elon at 3 p.m.
 
#GoWood