FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood lacrosse defense found a great way to honor the team's seniors on a wet, stormy Saturday afternoon: don't let Presbyterian score. The Lancers (4-10, 2-5 Big South) gave up a season low in goals in an 11-6 win over Presbyterian (6-9, 3-4 Big South), with the defense leading the way.
 
SCORE:
 
               1Q          2Q          3Q          4Q          FINAL
PC          2             0             1             3             6
LWU      2             2             2             5             11
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
Longwood's defense was lights out throughout the game, but especially in the first half. The Lancers never trailed, and the defense held Presbyterian scoreless for the second quarter and for a total of 24 minutes.
 
Ainsley Rowlison and Julia Koenig both had three caused turnovers, and the Lancers had 14 CT's on 21 Presbyterian turnovers. Plus, the Lancers limited Presbyterian to 14 shots.
 
Meanwhile, Miranda Helfenbein led the charge on offense with a season-best three goals in a hat trick. The sophomore was everywhere, and she grabbed three ground balls to go with four draw controls.
 
Three other Lancers scored multiple goals, with Lauren Cerretani, Sophia Passa and Riley McDonald adding two goals apiece. Both Passa and Cerretani added four draw controls each as the Lancers outdrew Presbyterian 13-7.
 
Helfenbein scored in each of the first two quarters as the Lancers took the early lead. Longwood led 4-2 at the half, with three of the four goals scored by underclassment.
 
A lightning delay paused the game at halftime, halting play for two hours and forty minutes.
 
The Lancer offense came out reinvigorated and re-energized after halftime, with the team's draw control advantage helping Longwood control large swaths of play. The trio of Helfenbein, Passa and Cerretani all played major roles in keeping possession for Longwood.
 
While the defense shut down the Blue Hose, Longwood slowly extended the lead. Cerretani had both of her goals after halftime, and Helfenbein capped her second career hat trick in the fourth quarter.
 
WHAT THEY SAID:
 
"It was a great defensive game where the team banded together and honored our seniors by playing as hard as they could, even with the rain delay," said Longwood Head Coach Kylar Ferguson. "The defense played strong all game, and it was nice to see the offense take advantage of their long reset at halftime."
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 
Helfenbein tied a career high with three goals.
 
Emily Cate Smith added one goal and three assists. Her three assists led the team.
 
Amelia Carlile made eight saves in goal on 14 shots on goal. She had a .571 save percentage.
 
Cerretani now has 133 career draw controls at Longwood, two shy of tying for fifth in the program's Division I history.
 
Nine different Lancers had a CT, with Koenig and Rowlison posting a team-best three. Zenie Newsom added two CTs.
 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood plays its final two match of the regular season on the road, with a trip to Radford on Wednesday, April 26 followed by a trip to Winthrop on Saturday, April 29.
 
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