FARMVILLE, Va. – Ireland McDermott may have had the game winning goal for Longwood field hockey, but the Lancers (3-11, 1-3 MAC) got contributions from up and down the lineup to beat Ball State 3-2 on Sunday afternoon.
 
McDermott had one goal and one assist and was one of three goal scorers for a Longwood offense that capitalized on penalty corners for their first conference win. The Lancers earned 10 corners in the match and scored on three of them.
 
SCORING:
 
               1             2             3             4             Final
BSU       0             1             0             1             2
LWU      0             1             1             1             3
 
26:21 | LWU—Chloe Underwood (1)
27:09 | BSU—Kerrianne McClay (3), assist Michaela Graney
41:38 | LWU—Madison Wiley (2), assist Ireland McDermott
49:45 | LWU—Ireland McDermott (3), assist Cara Obeirne
54:48 | BSU—Michaela Graney (5), assist Kerriane McClay
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
The start of the match was a choppy affair that featured two defenses that were difficult to break down. Eventually, Ball State (5-7, 2-2 MAC) was able to test the Lancer back line near the end of the quarter, but the Lancers made a trio of big plays to keep the match scoreless.
 
Santia McLaughlin had three saves, including stopping a penalty stroke with less than a minute to play in the quarter to keep the match scoreless, and the Lancers fended off a penalty corner as well.
 
Longwood's offense seized the momentum going into the second quarter, and it capitalized on its first penalty corner of the match. McDermott fired a shot that Ball State's Hannah Johnston saved, but the ball popped up in the air. Chloe Underwood batted it into the back of the cage for her first collegiate goal and a 1-0 lead.
 
Ball State answered though on a penalty corner of their own, with Kerriane McClay tying the score.
 
In the third period, Longwood again capitalized on a corner. This time, McDermott played a shot toward the cage from the top of the shooting circle, and Madison Wiley deflected it home for a 2-1 lead.
 
The Lancers struck one last time in the fourth off a penalty corner. This time, Tierney forced Johnston to make a kick save, but it ricocheted straight to Cara Obeirne. Obeirne immediately found McDermott in front of the cage, and McDermott slammed it home.
 
While Ball State cut the lead to 3-2 with five minutes to play, the Lancers were able to fend off the Cardinals and snap a seven-match losing streak.
 
WHAT THEY SAID:
 
"We have a really special group who continues to fight every day to get better," said Longwood Head Coach Miranda Rigg. "We played team hockey and finished when we needed to. I'm proud of their fight and efforts today."
 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood is in a stretch where it plays three of its final four matches at home. The Lancers host Appalachian State on Friday night at 5 p.m. The match will air on ESPN+.
 
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