Box Score

Richmond, Va. – The Longwood University field hockey team fell, 5-2, to the University of Richmond (5-3) on Saturday afternoon in Richmond. Junior captain Stacey de Grandhomme|Cape Town, South Africa (Table View) and freshman Kim Ruiter|Huizen, The Netherlands (Luzac College) led the Lancers (2-8) with one goal apiece in the outing. Longwood will return to action on Friday, September 28 when the squad hosts Temple University at the Athletics Complex in Farmville beginning at 7 p.m.

The teams battled back-and-forth through over 20 minutes of scoreless play before Richmond broke the game open when the ball drifted to the left side of the cage and Avery Stafford deflected it on goal to give the Spiders a 1-0 advantage.

Richmond extended its lead less than two minutes later, as Chelsea Davies dribbled down the right side and fed a pass to teammate Taylor Dietrick, who put a shot on goal from five yards out.  Davies followed with a goal of her own to make it a 3-0 game with less than eight minutes to play in the first half, taking control of the ball near the left side of the circle and sending a shot skidding past senior goalkeeper Amy Lewis|Lewisville, N.C. (Forsyth Country Day).

The Lancers were able to get on the board by converting on a penalty corner opportunity with five minutes left in the first half. de Grandhomme picked up the loose ball on the play and sent hard shot on goal to cut the Longwood deficit to two heading into the break.

Longwood struck first coming out of halftime, as Ruiter found the back of the cage for the second straight game, pulling the Lancers within one with less than 15 minutes remaining in the contest.

The Spiders retaliated with two late goals to seal the victory. With just over 10 minutes to play, Rebecca Barry and Blair Kline broke down the field in a 2-on-1 situation. Nearing the cage, Barry dished the ball to Kline for the shot and goal to put Richmond up 4-2. Just over two minutes later, Kerri McDonald scored an unassisted goal to give her squad the 5-2 victory.

de Grandhomme led the Lancers with three shots in the outing, while sophomore Jessica Diaz|Chesapeake (Western Branch) tallied two. Ruiter, along with seniors Christina Verhulst|Yorktown (Grafton) and Nicole Segala|Williamsburg (Jamestown), each added one shot of their own in the contest. Lewis notched six saves in the cage for the Lancers in the complete-game performance.

Davies led the Spiders with a game-high five shots on the day. As a team, Richmond outshot Longwood, 20-8, and forced more penalty corners, 9-3.

Saturday's contest marked the 16th meeting between Longwood and Richmond in the sport of field hockey. Richmond now holds a 13-2-1 advantage in the all-time series.