FARMVILLE, Va. – Trailing by three goals with under 10 minutes remaining, Longwood women's lacrosse held Presbyterian without a goal the rest of the way while rallying to get within one. However, the Blue Hose defense stood tall in the final 30 seconds to escape Farmville with a 12-11 win on Saturday afternoon at Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field.
 
A tightly contested game featuring five lead changes, four ties, and no leads greater than three goals, the win snapped a 10 game losing streak for Presbyterian against Longwood. Both teams racked up exactly 26 shots and 18 shots on goal, while the Blue Hose held a slight edge in draw controls at 13-12. Two players on each side tallied hat tricks, as Abby Edmisten and Kelly Hyman each tallied four goals for Presbyterian, while Emma Johnson and Dana Joss tallied three goals each for Longwood.
 
"We knew it would be a battle because all conference games are going to be challenging," said Longwood head coach Elaine Jones. "Unfortunately, close games have already plagued us this year several times and today was no exception."
 
Trailing 9-7 at the half, the Lancers (1-9, 0-1 Big South) came out stronger in the second half, outscoring Presbyterian while allowing just three goals to fight their way back into the game. Jade O'Connor and Emma Johnson picked up the first two goals of the final half, leveling the score at 9-9 with 20:07 to play.
 
The Blue Hose bounced back with a 3-0 run from 13:04-9:50 to take a 12-9 lead. Abby Edmisten and Kelly Hyman led Presbyterian (3-5, 1-2 Big South) with four goals apiece.
 
However, the Lancer defense led by Hannah Tirrell, Rachel Abraham, Lauren Cerretani, and six saves from goalkeeper Riley Hayden held off the Blue Hose the rest of the way, allowing Longwood's offense to battle back. Dana Joss, who tied for the team lead in goals with Emma Johnson at three, scored with 7:10 remaining to pull the Lancers within two. Nicole Fordyce followed with a free position goal at the 2:24 mark, her second of the game, to get Longwood within a goal, 12-11.
 
After the Lancers lost the ensuing draw control, Emma Johnson and Rachel Abraham combined to force a Presbyterian turnover and give the Lancers possession of the ball with under a minute to play. Following a Longwood timeout, Taylor Blenkstone ripped a potential game-tying shot off the post, but the Lancers were able to get to the loose ball.
 
After a yellow card was issued to Edmisten, O'Connor was awarded a free-position shot with 20 seconds remaining but fired just wide of the Presbyterian net. Joss fired a last-second shot through traffic with just second to play, but the ball did not make it to the Presbyterian goal as the Blue Hose snuck away with a 12-11 win.
 
Joss was all over the field for the Lancers, leading or tying for the team lead in goals (3), assists (2), points (5), ground balls (3), and caused turnovers (2). Logan Ward led the team with five draw controls, also tallying a goal and a ground ball. In her return to the lineup, Ainsley Rowlison tallied a ground ball and four draw controls. As a team, the Lancers caused nine turnovers, scooped 14 ground balls, and converted 14-of-15 clears.
 
"In a tight game, the margin for error is very, very small," added Jones. "Every player on the field has to be able to execute at a high level consistently for two halves. Presbyterian did it well today and that won them the game. We weren't able to do it and that earned us the loss. That being said, we have the rest of our conference games coming up so there's no time to mope about one loss. We need to get back on track and prepare to play Radford next week."
 
Longwood will continue their Big South slate when they head to Radford on Saturday, April 10 for a clash with the Highlanders.

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