GREENVILLE, S.C. – A spirited Longwood lacrosse effort came up just short on the road at Furman to open conference play on Wednesday night. Sophia Passa led the charge for Longwood (2-6, 0-1 Big South) with a career best four goals and one assist, and Claire Libby and Lauren Cerretani each had hat trick. The Paladins (4-4, 1-0 Big South) used six goals and an assist by Meagan Beal and five goals by Sophia Buzelis in response.
 
SCORE:
 
               1Q          2Q          3Q          4Q
LWU      4             4             3             3
FUR        4             3             7             5
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
Furman jumped out to an early lead, but the Lancers roared back. After the Paladins took a 4-1 lead with 5:17 left in the first quarter, the Lancer defense went into lockdown. Furman didn't score for the next 14 minutes of action, and the Lancers ripped off seven straight goals.
 
Emily Cate Smith opened the scoring for the Lancers, and Lauren Cerretani tied things up at the end of the first quarter with a clutch free position shot with one second on the clock.
 
Passa then proceeded to score three straight goals over the first seven minutes of the second quarter as the Lancer defense continued to swarm Furman. Goalkeeper Amelia Carlile made three saves, and the Lancer defense had a pair of caused turnovers to allow Longwood to vault in front.
 
Smith capped the scoring with 6:55 to go in the first half on a free position for her 10^th goal of the season.
 
Furman found purchase in the game, and Molly Faul ended Longwood's run with 5:59 to go in the half. Buzelis and Beal added tallies of their own, but the Lancer still held a one-goal lead, 8-7, at the half.
 
The Furman run continued after halftime though, as Buzelis put in the tying goal early in the second half.
 
The Paladins extended the lead to 11-8, but Cerretani ended the seven-goal run with her 10^th goal of the season with 5:56 to play in the third quarter. Both teams traded goals over the next few minutes, and Cerretani kept the Lancers within three heading into the fourth quarter. She scored with 18 seconds to go in the third to trim the lead to 14-11.
 
In the fourth quarter, Longwood refused to go away quietly after Furman extended the lead to seven. Pass added her fourth goal of the game with 4:28 to play, and the Lancers outscored Furman 3-1 in the final 4:28 of the game. Claire Libby capped the scoring with her third goal of the contest off a pass from Passa with 14 second to go.
 
WHAT THEY SAID:
 
"We started strong and finished strong," said Longwood Head Coach Kylar Ferguson. "Our players showed a lot of heart which made for a really fun lacrosse game. Even though we didn't come out on top, the team found another gear, and I'm confident that we can keep building on that. I'm excited to make more conference memories as a team this weekend."
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 
Longwood scored in the final minute of three of the four quarters, with Cerretani having two of the three goals.
 
Passa set a career high with four goals, and she added her first assist of the season. In addition, she had one ground ball and one draw control.
 
Passa has scored six of her 10 goals in the past two games. She had two goals after halftime against William & Mary.
 
Libby had her first hat trick of the season.
 
Cerretani had her first hat trick of the season as well.
 
Smith had her fourth two-goal game of the season, and she now has 10 goals on the year. Four Lancers have now scored 10 or more goals this season.
 
Miranda Helfenbein led Longwood with seven draw controls.
 
Julia Koenig led the defense with a pair of caused turnovers and a team-best four ground balls.
 
Amelia Carlile made seven saves in goal for the Lancers.
 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood hosts Gardner-Webb on Saturday afternoon. The opening draw is set for noon at Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field.
 
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