FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood lacrosse shook off a very slow start and rallied on Wednesday night against High Point, but ultimately the Panthers held on late to take down the Lancers 20-14. Riley McDonald and Sophia Passa ripped off 10 goals for Longwood (3-9, 1-4 Big South), but High Point's Mena Loescher, Emma Genovese and Kay Rosselli tallied 12 goals.
 
SCORE:
 
               1Q          2Q          3Q          4Q          Final
HPU       8             3             3             6             20
LWU      1             4             5             4             14
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
After Longwood found itself trailing High Point (4-9, 3-2 Big South) by seven goals after the first 15 minutes, Passa and McDonald put on their hard hats and went to work.
 
McDonald exploded for a career high six goals, including a few highlight strikes that saw her repeatedly leave Panther defenders grasping for air. It was her fourth straight multi-goal effort, and she had an assist as well.
 
Meanwhile, Passa played the role of Robin to McDonald's Batman with four goals of her own. She had her fifth multi-goal effort in her past six games, and she sits second on the team with 22 goals on the season.
 
Passa, the reigning Big South Freshman of the Week, was the one who started Longwood's rally with back-to-back goals to start the second quarter. The Lancers slowly whittled away and went into the half down six.
 
After halftime, McDonald and Passa powered the Lancers within four. The dynamic duo had two goals apiece in the third quarter to cut the HPU lead to 14-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The Lancers battled foul trouble early in the fourth quarter, and McDonald whistled home a wicked free position shot to trim the Panther lead to three. After a High Point tally, McDonald again worked her magic to cut the lead to 16-13 less than 15 seconds later.
 
Ainsley Rowlison found Claire Libby cutting to the front of the net, and Libby scored with five minutes remaining to get Longwood within two.
 
However, attrition caught up to the Lancers, as their top two defenders were out due to an accumulation of yellow cards. High Point scored four straight to seal the deal in the waning minutes.
 
WHAT THEY SAID:

"Again, we saw moments of what we are capable of as a team," said Longwood Head Coach Kylar Ferguson. "Our strong players showed what they can do to take a game over, and I am very proud of them."

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 
McDonald set her career high in goals, and it was the third time she posted seven points, which tied a career high.
 
McDonald has had seven points in two of her past three games.
 
The junior has also scored three or more goals in each of her past four games, and she has eight multi-goal games this season.
 
Passa has scored 16 of her 22 goals in Big South Conference games.
 
Passa, a freshman, has had six multi-goal games this season, and she has had four multi-goal efforts in five Big South games.
 
Isabella McCullough got the start in goal for Longwood, and she made 13 saves, which was two shy of her career high.
 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood hits the road for their next match when they travel to Campbell on Saturday, April 15 at 1 p.m. The team returns home for Senior Day on Saturday, April 22 in the final home match of the season as they host Presbyterian. The opening draw that weekend is set for noon, and the game will be on ESPN+.
 
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