FARMVILLE, Va. – Dr. Suess would be proud of Longwood women's lacrosse.
 
The man who coined the phrase 'These things are fun and fun is good' would recognize that same spirit present in Farmville on the team's beloved Smurf Turf at Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field.
 
Watch the sidelines after a goal, or, frankly, any positive play, and the team's chemistry and connectedness shine through. Whether it is players building a human pyramid on the sideline, dancing along to the goal song, or just hooping and hollering, the Lancers are having fun. And fun is good.
 
"Winning or losing, Coach Ferguson wants us to celebrate everything, the little moments too," said Longwood sophomore attacker Sophia Passa. "At the end of the day, we want people to go home and be like, 'Wow, that sideline.' Or the people who watch on ESPN, 'They are having so much fun.'"
 
"The student-athlete experience is what it's all about, and that's more so where I think the wins come from, is from kids that are enjoying themselves," said Longwood Head Coach Kylar Ferguson. "The team having the most fun is usually the team that wins."
 
How that has rung true for Longwood. The Lancers are off to their best start in Big South play in a decade, going 4-0 to open league play. The squad has won six of its past eight games, which has given plenty of moments for the team to celebrate together.
 
"We trust everyone all the time," said Longwood midfielder Ellie Rumbaugh. "We never are too nervous to throw to somebody in transition or nervous to throw passes to somebody inside the eight. We trust that people are going to catch it, they are going to finish their shots."
 
"We're a team from the last person on the bench to the first person on the field," said senior attacker Riley McDonald. "Our bench being super hype is just a testament to our culture, how close we are, and how much we support each other. If you're on the sideline, it doesn't feel like you can't have a role in the game."
 
That trust shows up in a variety of ways. Longwood's offense features six players who have racked up at least 15 points, and the team has had an assist on half of its goals. Defensively, the team can suffocate opposing offenses with a smothering efficiency that has them ranked second in the Big South in goals against average.
 
This connectedness was intentional though, and it can be easy to overlook the hard work and time necessary to put it together.
 
"We started laying the foundation last year when Coach Ferguson got here," said Rumbaugh. "Coach was always reminding us every single meeting, 'Y'all need to show up for each other. Y'all need to have each other's backs.' I think those small words resonated with people."
 
"Having a strong leader at the head of your team who is constantly instilling [values like] taking care of each other, trusting each other, building connections off the field, wanting each other to succeed, constantly putting those words out into the universe for us to hear and us to receive makes us feel like we should follow her lead in that respect," said McDonald, who leads the team with 36 goals and 49 points. "Having a positive leader who trusts in all of us and loves all of us and wants us to do the same sets the tone, and then we all followed suit."
 
After taking the helm, Ferguson could see the potential there for the team. She instilled four pillars for the team: respect, loyalty, commitment and pride.
 
"They were very hungry for competing at a higher level," said Ferguson. "They needed those stepping stones on how to get there and what that looks like on a day-to-day basis while continuing as a student-athlete and being successful in the classroom…They have faced a lot of adversity both on and off the field, and these are things that really help a group come together towards a common vision and goal, and they've absolutely run with it. Taking care of each other off the field just as much as they do on, which, to me, is the makings of a great team."
 
"We came to realize how much—yes  our relationships matter on the field matter—but what off the field does in the way that we speak to each other and the way that we act with each other, really resembles that out on the field and how we play with each other," said Passa, who is second on the team with 29 goals.
 
This season, that chemistry was put to the test early, as Longwood, for a second straight year, integrated more than 10 freshman into the roster. A non-conference schedule saw the team show flashes of the bright future, but there were multiple heartbreaking losses. That experience just brought the team together more.
 
"Our coaches constantly instilling in us to have belief in ourselves no matter what the results or the outcomes were," McDonald said. "Not focusing so much on the scoreboard but focusing on, what did we get better at that game, what were we able to learn from that game. What can we take from that game and move forward to get better at next time."
 
"Coach Hicks would always say, 'I never doubt y'all for a second,'" said Rumbaugh. "Against William & Mary, we lost by one, but we were down by six after the first quarter, and Coach Hicks kept telling us, 'I'm not doubting y'all. Y'all are going to come back in this game.' And we did come back. We couldn't get all the way back, but we did come back. I think the coaching staff in our ear, telling us it's coming, the wins are coming, y'all are building, y'all got this. That resonated with everybody on the team."
 
That confidence and belief has certainly paid dividends. Amid the team's current four-game winning streak, the Lancers have had the chance to apply the lessons of the past.
 
Against Radford, the Lancers never trailed, but they separated what had been a close game with a six-goal explosion in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the defense dominated down the stretch, surrendering only one goal to the Highlanders.
 
Five players scored amid the Lancer run, and freshmen Holly Hill and Ariana Tucci, along with Passa—a sophomore—led the team with three goals each. Miranda Helfenbein keyed the defensive effort with a whopping six ground balls and seven caused turnovers.
 
"We knew this season that we had some awesome seniors, and we had Claire coming back, which was awesome," Rumbaugh said of the strong start to conference play. "And we had some freshman that really stepped up. We expected to be good. Out of conference, we struggled a little bit, but we knew it was coming."
 
On the road at Presbyterian, Longwood found itself down 6-3 after the first quarter. This time, the Lancers brought it all the way back. Again, second-half execution powered the team to a well-earned conference road win. This time, fifth-year Claire Libby muscled in four goals while Tucci added four.
 
At Wofford, Longwood found itself down at halftime, but the defense dominated the second half. Meanwhile, five different players scored after halftime to rally for the win. McDonald and Passa ripped home four goals apiece. Helfenbein and senior Julia Koenig rallied the defense, with the two combining for six ground balls, four caused turnovers and 12 draw controls.
 
Most recently, Longwood dominated the first quarter against Winthrop before managing the game down the stretch to win their fourth straight. Passa had six goals, and McDonald added five. Rumbaugh, along with Claire Libby, Julie Koenig and freshman Morgan Badger, all had multiple caused turnovers. Libby and Koenig added 11 combined draw controls as well.
 
"It's still the same process after each game," McDonald said. "What did we do that was good, what did we do that was bad? How can we increase the good moments? We still haven't played our full 60 minutes of Longwood women's lacrosse, our peak performance. That's still coming. We're still focused on that."
 
"After the first win, we were like, 'Okay, so now we know how to win. We know what's next and what to do,'" Passa said. "We still have work to do. We still have things to clean up. We have five more games to prepare for plus the Big South Tournament. That's what's keeping us all driven to put a ring on it this season."
 
The Lancers are back on the road for a non-conference test against Stetson on Thursday followed by a matchup with fellow Big South unbeaten Mercer on Saturday. Longwood will head into the busy three-day stretch the only way they know how: together.
 
"At the end of the day, lacrosse is something that is an outlet for us to get closer to people, learn life lessons, have a good time, enjoy ourselves," said McDonald. "With the sideline being super hype and excited, there's no difference between people who are on the field, doing things in games, and people who are staying on the sideline for parts of the game. We're a team from the last person on the bench to the first person on the field."
 
#GoWood #HorsePower