Box Score
FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood University field hockey team converted on a penalty corner late in overtime to earn a 1-0 victory against Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference opponent Davidson College (7-9, 4-1 NorPac) on Saturday afternoon in Farmville. Junior captain
Stacey de Grandhomme|Cape Town, South Africa (Table View) notched the game-winning goal for the Lancers (5-12, 4-2 NorPac). Longwood returns to action on Wednesday, October 24 when they host Radford University at 6 p.m.
“That was a really challenging NorPac game,” head coach
Iain Byers said. “In the first half, we were off the ball, and we really didn't play very well or execute any of the game plan, letting Davidson run the game. In the second half, we were a lot stronger. We came out after the timeout, played with intensity, really turned it around and outshot them. I said to the team as we went into overtime, 'this is the kind of intensity we need and the goal will come if we keep playing at this level.' And you know what, we played through 13 minutes of overtime and it's great to get the monkey off our back after the game at Davidson earlier this season.”
The teams battled for possession in the first half with neither squad able to find the back of the cage. Davidson notched seven shots in the opening 35 minutes of the contest, but a strong defensive effort by freshman goalkeeper
Meg Mitchell|Allentown, Pa. (Emmaus) and the rest of the Lancers back line kept the Wildcats scoreless. Longwood had two opportunities get on the board late in the half, when freshman
Jennifer Burris|Virginia Beach (Kempsville) made a diving, backhand shot and de Grandhomme followed with a hard shot of her own from the left side of the circle, but both attempts sailed just wide, sending the teams into the break knotted at 0-0.
Coming out of halftime, the Lancers offense went on the attack, outshooting Davidson, 10-1, in the next 35 minutes. With just over 25 minutes remaining in the second half, Davidson's Finley Amato sent a pass to Annie Evans, who redirected the ball past Mitchell, but the shot was called off to keep the game tied a 0-0.
In the final minutes of regulation, de Grandhomme sent a cross to the front of the cage for freshman
Nicole Deckard|Selinsgrove, Pa. (Selinsgrove Area), who put back-to-back shots on goal, but both were saved by the Wildcats' keeper. With less than four minutes to play, Longwood had a chance to score on a corner opportunity when a shot from senior
Nicole Segala|Williamsburg (Jamestown) found its way into the cage, but the goal was called off for the second time in the contest, forcing a 15-minute, sudden-victory overtime period.
The teams battled through 13 minutes of extra time until the winning goal came with just 1:40 left in the period when the Lancers were awarded a penalty corner. Burris inserted the ball to sophomore
Jessica Diaz|Chesapeake (Western Branch), whose clean stick stop allowed de Grandhomme to fire a hard shot past the Wildcats' defense to seal the 1-0 victory.
Longwood outshot Davidson, 16-10, in the outing and forced more corners, 7-6. Saturday's match marked the 26th meeting ever between the Lancers and the Wildcats in the sport of field hockey, with Davidson holding a slim, 13-12-1 advantage in the all-time series.
