ROCK HILL, S.C. – Longwood lacrosse battled but a rally narrowly ran out of time in a heartbreaking loss to Winthrop, 13-12, to close the regular season. Sophia Passa posted four goals to lead the Lancers (4-12, 2-7 Big South), but Winthrop (4-12, 1-8 Big South) used a hat trick from Lexi Johnson to just edge the Lancers.
 
SCORE:
 
               1Q          2Q          3Q          4Q          Final
LWU      1             4             4             3             12
WIN       3             3             3             4             13
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
Neither side led by more than three in a thrilling back-and-forth lacrosse match to close the regular season.
 
Longwood trailed early but refused to go away, with that relentless effort being a common thread through the season for the team. A youthful Lancer squad repeatedly made runs, no matter the score, to throughout the entirety of conference play. Passa, a freshman, finished as the team's second-leading scorer behind junior Riley McDonald, and she was third on the team in assists, behind both McDonald and junior Emily Cate Smith.
 
Meanwhile, the Lancer defense also put together strong stretches behind a pair of young goalkeepers to keep Longwood in games, regardless of the success on the attack.
 
At the start of this game, the Lancer defense helped fend off a slow start from the attack and limited Winthrop to three goals in the opening 15 minutes. While Passa put Longwood on the board, the Lancer offense took a bit to get on track.
 
However, Longwood erased a two-goal Winthrop lead in the second quarter. While the defense held Winthrop scoreless for a five minute stretch, senior Claire Libby scored to cut the Winthrop lead to one. Passa scored three minutes later to knot the score at 4-4.
 
While Winthrop led by one at halftime, Longwood came out strong in the third quarter. Again, the Lancer defense held Winthrop scoreless for a nine-minute stretch in the third quarter which gave the offense time to tie the score and take the lead. Passa had a pair of goals sandwiched around a Libby goal to cut the lead to one, tie it, and take a 9-8 lead. However, Winthrop's Grayson McKenzie just beat the buzzer with a shot to even the game back up at nine heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The Eagles ran the lead up to 13-10 on Johnson's third goal of the match before Longwood stormed back. Lauren Cerretani powered one in with 1:42 to play that cut the lead to two, and Riley McDonald cut it to one 40 seconds later off a feed from Passa.
 
Winthrop won the final draw to ice the game.
 
WHAT THEY SAID:
 
"This 2023 season was so fun and full of exciting lacrosse," said Longwood Head Coach Kylar Ferguson as she reflected on the season. "Longwood's program is full of young women who constantly take care of each other and their community. This allowed for the young players to gel early with seasoned vets in a hard working environment of growth."
 
"We had so many highlights and milestones from seniors and freshman alike," Ferguson added. "We have a great jumping off point culturally with a team that has bought into the vision, and we will keep adding competitive players who are hungry for what's to come."
 
"Thank you to our amazing seniors—the Fantastic Four—for all your heart you showed all year and for being the perfect role models for what a class that stays together and plays together is all about," Ferguson added about seniors Ainsley Rowlison, Claire Libby, Harper Melton and Lauren Cerretani. "The torch has been lit, and the returners and coaching staff are committed to Lancing forward! The 2024 season begins today—onward and upward!"
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 
McDonald had two goals and leads Longwood with a career best 39 goals this season.
 
McDonald is the team's points leader with 39 goals and 15 assists for 54 points.
 
Passa finished with four goals to give her 28 on the season, which was second on the team.
 
Passa was third on the team with 38 points on 28 goals and 10 assists.
 
Libby added two goals for her fourth multi-goal game of the 2023 campaign.
 
Cerretani had two goals to go with two assists, and she was third on the team with 25 goals this season.
 
Cerretani led the team with 70 draw controls, and she has 147 in her career which is good for fifth all-time.
 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood heads into the offseason with a host of young players on the roster. Only four players were seniors, and 18 players were underclassmen.
 
#GoWood #HorsePower