FARMVILLE, Va. – After a two-plus hour lightning delay, Longwood and Lafayette treated those who stuck it out to a thriller of a contest, trading goals back-and-forth all night in what ended as the first overtime contest of the season for either team. Heartbreak befell the Lancers as Lafayette found the winner just 3:22 into the first overtime period, snatching a 4-3 victory in Farmville.
 
While Longwood fell on the wrong side of the result, the Lancers showed marked improvement in the week since a season-opening loss to James Madison.
 
"Tonight was a bit of an unusual situation with the long delay," said head coach Iain Byers. "The last few days, we really focused on a couple of things we wanted to do in strategic situations that we didn't do well against JMU. I felt we did a really good job of executing the game plan tonight."
 
A foul whistled on the edge of the circle led to the Lafayette corner which would finish the game. After the insertion, Amanda Magaden dribbled to the left side of the circle and fired a shot which deflected up and over the head of Longwood keeper Lauren Bernard. That's where Lafayette's Ami Turner picked the ball out of midair and slammed it into the back of the net for the dramatic game winner.
 
For Longwood, it was a disappointing end to an otherwise solid performance.
 
"It's a tough loss," said Byers. "A couple of breaks didn't go our way tonight and the team is going to be annoyed and rightfully so. There are definitely positives that we'll take from it, however."
 
 After the lengthy delay in which little rain actually fell but streaks of lightning kept the teams off the field, Longwood got off to a quick start, scoring just five minutes into the game. Senior Hollie MacDonald notched her first goal of the season, stuffing home a rebound off of Jennifer Burris' initial shot to stake a 1-0 Longwood advantage.
 
The early goal along with Longwood's increased pressure was certainly a welcome site after falling down 3-0 to JMU a week earlier. The lead, however, would be short lived.
 
Lafayette equalized ten minutes later on a short corner, a routine which developed into a pattern as all four Lafayette goals came off of corner situations. Magaden slotted home the first Leopards goal for her team-leading third of the year.
 
The Leopards pressed on, taking the lead with seven minutes to play in the half as Kirby Szalkowski pounced on a loose ball following the corner and hammered her shot underneath a diving Lauren Bernard. Much like Longwood's first lead, the Leopards' was also short-lived.
 
Just 50 seconds after the Lafayette tally, Edel Nyland dribbled through a crowd of defenders into the top of the circle and crushed a reverse shot into the bottom right corner. That would end an exciting first half with the score level at 2-2.
 
Longwood once more struck quickly in the second half, this time courtesy of 2014 leading scorer Burris. The senior drew within four goals of Longwood's top 10 all-time scorers by finding a loose ball following a scramble and sending the shot off the board in the low left corner.
 
As was the theme all night long, Lafayette had an answer. With just over 10 minutes to play, another Leopards corner ended with the ball in the back of the cage. Rosie Shanks took a pass from Hannah Millen and finessed her shot through traffic and past Bernard to draw level once more.
 
Lafayette came out the aggressor in the overtime period and drew its eighth corner of the evening, ending the game before Longwood could create a scoring opportunity.
 
In an extremely even bout, Longwood found itself on the short end of a couple close breaks, none bigger that a goal that was waved off in the first half, which would have given Longwood a 2-0 lead. Lafayette would finish the game outshooting Longwood 11-10 and held an 8-6 advantage in penalty corners.
 
Longwood drops to 0-2 on the young season and will return to action Sunday morning with an 11 a.m. start versus Pennsylvania.
 
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