LORETTO, Pa. – A slow start wound up being too much for Longwood women's lacrosse to overcome on cold Wednesday afternoon. The Lancers fell to St. Francis (PA) 16-6 to wrap up a three-game road trip to start the 2023 campaign.
 
SCORE
 
               1Q          2Q          3Q          4Q          Final
LWU      1             1             3             1             6
SFU        5             5             2             4             16
 
Top Longwood Performers
Emily Cate Smith: 1G, 2A
Riley McDonald: 2G

HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
St. Francis (1-0) struck early and often on the way to a 10-2 lead over the opening 30 minutes. Autumn McHenry led the way with a hat trick in the first half and four goals and two assists total for St. Francis in the team's season opener.
 
That offensive onslaught snapped Longwood's two-game winning streak that had seen the team beat George Mason and Kennesaw State to start the season.
 
An aggressive defense by St. Francis helped get a Lancer (2-1) attack that had been humming out of rhythm. The Red Flash were credited with nine caused turnovers, and the Lancers turned it over 17 times.
 
Longwood started to rally in the third quarter and outscored the Red Flash 3-2 as the defense started to get in rhythm. Emily Cate Smith scored her only goal of the game to start a three-goal run for the Lancers, and Riley McDonald scored twice after halftime.
 
However, the Red Flash were able to slow the game down enough that the Lancers couldn't find any purchase.

WHAT THEY SAID:
 
"It is unfortunate that we as a team did not execute at the level of which we know how," said Head Coach Kylar Ferguson. "But this is a team of players that respects the process of growth and will not pass on any opportunity. I know that we are all ready to respond and put in the work to ensure those same mistakes will not be repeated."
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 
Kendra DeFilippo scored her first collegiate goal with a strike in the third quarter.
 
Riley McDonald had her second straight multi-goal effort.
 
Emily Cate Smith added two assists for her third straight multi-assist game to start the 2023 season.
 
Amelia Carlile made 11 saves for the Lancers but took the loss to drop to 2-1 on the season.
 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood plays on Sunday in its home opener against Xavier. The opening draw is set for noon at Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field.
 
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