Longwood University Athletics

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood lacrosse left it all out there on Wednesday night, but the team suffered a heartbreaking end to their final home match of the season. A late goal, hotly contested following a 20-minute review, was credited to Maggie Wisniewski for Radford to take down the Lancers (3-10, 2-5 Big South) 9-8.
 
That overshadowed a strong effort by Longwood's offense that saw both Madison Rogers and Alexandra Hirst tally hat tricks, and Kendra DeFilippo added a pair of goals as well.
 
SCORING:
               1             2             3             4             FINAL
RAD       1             3             1             4             9
LWU      2             2             0             4             8
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
Longwood struck first on a Hirst goal in the first quarter, and Rogers quickly followed to make it 2-0.
 
However, both defenses quickly dragged the game into the back alley.
 
There were a combined 40 turnovers, and each team recorded at least 10 caused turnovers in the contest.
 
Radford got on the board late in the first quarter when Maddy Driscoll tallied her first of the game to cut Longwood's lead to 2-1, and the Highlanders tied it on a goal by Cassidy Deierlein.
 
Rogers scored two more times for the Lancers to get a hat trick by halftime, but Radford answered each time as the two teams were even at four after 30 minutes.
 
Evie Gee scored the lone goal for either side in a defensive struggle in the third quarter for a 5-4 Radford lead.
 
Longwood answered in the fourth, though, with a four-goal burst behind DeFilippo and Hirst. DeFilippo knotted the score at five off a feed from Sienna Huffman for Huffman's first collegiate assist, and she gave Longwood the lead less than two minutes later off a find by Hirst.
 
Hirst then scored back-to-back goals to extend the Lancer lead to three.
 
But Radford wiggled back into the game. Alyssa Yost put home her first of the season, and Gee scored back-to-back goals while a man up to tie the game. That set the stage for a wild finish that ended with Wisniewski's strike being given after a 21-minute review with 12 seconds to play.
 
Ava LaManna (3-10) was credited with the win in goal after making nine saves.
 
Isabella McCullough (3-10) made some big stops in the fourth quarter and finished with 14 saves while taking a tough-luck loss.

WHAT THEY SAID:

"Outstanding effort, but to have it come down to a referee call is very disappointing," said Longwood Head Coach Dwayne Hicks. "A goal scored after a blown horn, a signal to stop, should not be a goal; especially in an 8-8 game with so much on the line. This is not how games should be decided."
 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood plays the final game of the regular season on Saturday at Mercer. Opening draw is set for 11 a.m. in Macon, Ga., and the match will air on ESPN+.
 
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