FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood lacrosse rallied in the fourth quarter on Saturday afternoon against Gardner-Webb, but the Lancers (3-9, 2-4 Big South) came up just short in an 11-9 loss to Gardner-Webb at Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field.
 
Alexandra Hirst and Madison Rogers had two goals and two assists apiece, and Jordan Fitzgerald added two goals for the Lancers, but Maddie Tredway and Emma Duchscherer led Gardner-Webb (2-13, 2-4 Big South) with three goals each.
 
SCORING:
               1             2             3             4             FINAL
GWU     3             6             1             1             11
LWU      4             1             1             3             9
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
Longwood struck first on Bailey Stratton's 15^th goal of the season for an early lead, and the two teams played hot potato for the rest of the quarter. Rogers, Fitzgerald and Hirst had the other tallies, with Hirst's goal coming with 1:35 left in the quarter for a 4-3 lead going into the second.
 
Fitzgerald then powered home her second goal of the game for a 5-3 Lancer lead less than 40 seconds into the second quarter, but the Runnin' Bulldog defense blanked Longwood for the rest of the half.
 
Meanwhile, Tredway scored twice to start a 6-0 run for GWU that gave the visitors a 9-5 lead at the half.
 
Duchscherer punched one home early in the third for a 10-5 lead, but Rogers answered a few minutes later to pull Longwood within four.
 
That set the stage for a furious finish in the fourth, as Longwood rallied.
 
Montgomery Bedford put one home off a find from Stratton to cut it to 11-7, and Hirst tallied her second of the game less than two minutes later to pull Longwood within three. Kendra DeFilippo added one on the break with less than a minute to play, but a handful of clutch saves by Emma Anderson helped the Runnin' Bulldogs hold Longwood at bay in the waning minutes and seconds. She finished with 10 on the day to earn the win.
 
Isabella McCullough made 11 saves for Longwood but took the tough loss in goal.

WHAT THEY SAID:

"We had our chances," said Longwood Head Coach Dwayne Hicks. "We got some good looks and didn't finish our opportunities. That's the difference in close games. They had five free position shots, and we had one. It's the small things in close games that determine the winner. We didn't do the small things today."
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 

• For Rogers, it was her eighth straight multi-goal effort. She has a team-best 31 goals this season.
• The two assists were a career high for Rogers.
• Fitzgerald scored multiple goals for a third straight game.
• The two goals for Hirst tied her season high, and it was her second game this season with four points (two goals, two assists).

 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood hosts Radford at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22. Opening draw is set for 5 p.m.
 
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