FARMVILLE, Va. – Miranda Helfenbein was a holy terror on defense, and Longwood put the clamps on Radford in a 14-8 win to open Big South play on Wednesday night.
 
Helfenbein had a whopping seven caused turnovers and added six ground balls for the Lancers (3-6, 1-0 Big South). The seven CTs were the second most in a game in program history.
 
Meanwhile, Ariana Tucci, Holly Hill and Sophia Passa paid it off on the other end with hat tricks, and Emily Cate Smith provided the setup with five assists, a career high.
 
Top LWU Performers:
Miranda Helfenbein: 7CT, 6GB, 6DC
Ariana Tucci: 3G, 2A, 1CT
Emily Cate Smith: 1G, 5A
Sophia Passa: 3G, 1GB
Holly Hill: 3G, 3GB, 1CT
Julia Koenig: 7DC, 3GB, 1CT
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
The game was intense and tight early on amid a cold, rainy evening at Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field.
 
Longwood never trailed, but early on, neither side could get separation. Anytime Longwood threatened to break it open, Radford (3-7, 0-1 Big South) always had an answer.
 
However, thanks the Helfenbein and the rest of a fast, aggressive Lancer defense, Radford never had the chance to take the lead either. The Lancer defense forced 22 turnovers, and seven players were credited with a CT for Longwood.
 
Longwood took an early 2-0 lead off goals from Passa and Riley McDonald, but then Radford evened it up late in the first quarter.
 
The two sides traded goals back and forth amid the rain, with Tucci powering in a hat trick during the second and third quarters. She kept Longwood narrowly ahead with an 8-7 lead heading into the fourth.
 
Once the final 15 minutes were put on the clock, Longwood dominated. Smith scored her lone goal of the game and then found Anastasia Lajoie for her first goal as a Lancer, and Longwood started to break the game open with 10-7 lead.
 
Lightning forced a stoppage, but Longwood roared out of the pause with back-to-back goals from Holly Hill and Claire Libby to extend the lead to 12-7 with 6:43 to play.
 
Radford paused the run briefly with a goal from Mady Cheney, but Longwood's defense forced multiple turnovers in the final three minutes that led directly to two Passa goals that iced the game.
 
WHAT THEY SAID:
 
"This was a great start to conference play for our young team," said Longwood Head Coach Kylar Ferguson. "Three players had hat tricks, and our defense was dangerous with 14 caused turnovers, 21 ground balls and seven saves. A team win is what we needed, and we are looking forward to our trip together to Clinton this weekend."
 
NOTABLES:
 
The five assists were a career high for Smith.
 
Helfenbein set career highs in both ground balls and CT's.
 
Julia Koenig had a team-high seven draw controls.
 
Passa had her fourth hat trick of the season.
 
Holly Hill had her second hat trick of the year.
 
Tucci had her second hat trick in three games, and third of the season.
 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood heads to Presbyterian on Saturday for a noon matchup with the Blue Hose.
 
#GoWood #HorsePower