FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood broke out of a slump in a big way Sunday afternoon, erupting for the team's best performance in nearly a month to hand undefeated Mid-American Conference foe Ohio their first conference loss of the season, 3-1, at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
 
A simplified approach, as described by head coach Iain Byers, yielded a go-ahead goal from Leonie Verstraete in the 22nd minute that sparked the Lancers (7-8, 1-3 MAC) to an upset win that snapped a five-game losing streak and pushed the Lancers to within a half game of their first berth in the MAC Championship Tournament.
 
Verstraete's first-half score was the catalyst to a dominant effort from the Lancers, who dispatched a red-hot Ohio (6-8, 3-1 MAC) team that entered the matchup winners of four of their past five games and in second place in the MAC standings with an unblemished conference record. The signature win re-routed a lengthy stretch of hard-luck losses for the Lancers, who had suffered three one-goal losses within their past five games after opening the season with a Division I-era best 6-3 record.
 
"There's no better feeling. We needed this win," said Verstraete, whose go-ahead goal was her 12th of the season, putting her behind only teammate Edel Nyland's 14 goals for the MAC lead.
 
"We kind of lost our confidence during the losing streak, and [head coach Iain Byers] has put in a lot of effort in trying to bring that back to us. He's done a great job. The team just wanted it so badly, and we've worked hard these past few days of practice. We deserved it. We played so hard. We were obsessed with scoring today, and that's what got us the win."
 
Longwood's confidence took the form of a 17-8 shooting margin, bolstered by six shots from Nyland who had taken just seven combined in her previous three games. The junior from Tipperary, Ireland, found the back of the net on one of those just 36 seconds into the second half, pushing her back among the NCAA's top 10 leading scorers and giving the Lancers just enough cushion to outlast the Bobcats.
 
"It came down to the simple things," Byers said. "That's really something we've been doing for a while, but it all came to fruition today. It came down to the basics of defending a little better and making sure we took our chances. We've been creating the opportunities, just not putting them away."
 
Verstraete, Nyland and senior captain Ellen Ross all put their opportunities away to give the Lancers their most goals since a 4-3 upset over Big East powerhouse Liberty on Sept. 20. That win, despite its magnitude, was the last victory Longwood celebrated before enduring the five-game losing streak that ended Sunday.
 
"If you look at the stats, we've been playing at this level for the last two or three games," Byers said, "but we've failed to execute and given up a few cheap goals. Really it was just a switch of that this time. We kept the ball well, executed at a little bit higher rate and just performed a little better. That's all we've needed to do in our past three games; they haven't been far away."
 
The inflated shooting differential marked the third straight game the Lancers have outshot their opponents but the first time during that span the approach yielded multiple goals. Key to that offensive explosion was the dual production of Nyland and Verstraete, the two leading goal-scorers in the MAC, who both scored in the same game for the first time since the win over Liberty. Verstraete's goal was created by a passing sequence in front of the net from Olivia Wawrzyniak to Brenna Kinzel, while Nyland's came off a pass from junior classmate Maddie Kendrick on the opening drive of the second half.
 
Ross' goal came by her own making as she dribbled into the arc and laced a diving shot just past the outstretched leg of Ohio keeper Alex Pennington.
 
"The big difference is we played together a lot more," Verstraete said. "We were focusing on simple passes and going back to the basics and the way we played at the beginning of the season."
 
That return to the basics comes at an opportune time for the Lancers, who are deep in the hunt for one of four spots in the MAC Championship Tournament. The Lancers remain a half game out of fourth place behind Ball State (6-8, 1-2 MAC) with two conference matchups remaining at Central Michigan (1-13, 0-4 MAC) and at home against Missouri State (2-9, 1-3 MAC) on Oct. 29.
 
"We'll be ready for that," said Byers of the upcoming matchup against Central Michigan. "We've had a good vibe in the group throughout, and this win gives us a bit more confidence. Confidence begets confidence, and we'll go from there."
 
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