MORAGA, Calif. - Guided by four different players who each poured out at least four goals to combine for 18, Longwood women's lacrosse stormed to a 25-6 rout of St. Mary's Thursday night at the SMC Recreation Field.

Despite playing in a heavy rainfall for 60 minutes, Longwood (4-4) recorded its season-high in goals with an outpouring of scoring led by seniors Katie McHugh and Sarah Butler, who each scored five goals while combining for eight assists. Senior defender Shiloh McKenzie and sophomore midfielder Madison Stair also contributed four-goal performances to help the Lancers end their two-game trip to California on a positive note after a loss two days earlier at Cal.

In the first half, Longwood got off to a quick start to take a 5-0 lead midway through the period sparked by McHugh's first goal two minutes in and ending with back-to-back free position shot goals from sophomore Madison Stair and senior Sarah Butler. During that stretch, Andie Decelis scored an unassisted goal and also set up a Cassie Angeles score in the first five minutes of the game to spark Longwood's first of three separate runs of five straight goals.

Longwood would later trade goals with St. Mary's Meagan Bennett to extend its lead to 7-2 behind the Lancers' second and fourth free position goals from senior teammates Butler and McKenzie. Butler's second score came after she took the ball downfield off a St. Mary's turnover. McKenzie also made a nice move past defenders which led to her first score.

Over the final six minutes of the first half, the Lancers made it rain with another stretch of five unanswered goals sparked by two scores apiece from McKenzie and Butler to extend the score to 12-4 at the break. Moments after McHugh scored off a pass from Hollyn Royster with 6:45 remaining, McKenzie received a pass in the circle from Butler for her second goal, and later tallied an unassisted goal in the final minute.

Butler finished the first half with four goals, including two over the final two minutes of the period. The senior midfielder scored her third with 1:39 on the clock after McKenzie drew attention from St. Mary's defenders and then found Butler open in the middle of the circle for Longwood's 10th goal of the evening. She then notched her fourth goal three seconds before the break on a fast break that was set up after Cassie Angeles controlled the draw which lead to a one-on-one matchup between Butler and a St. Mary's defender.

At the start of the second half, Longwood's McHugh and the freshman Angeles each netted goals to put the Lancers up 14-4 within the first seven minutes before the Gaels ended the seven-goal run. St. Mary's sophomore attacker Hanna Dalrymple hit the back of the net for her second goal of the evening to bring St. Mary's within single digits at the 39-minute mark and stop the bleeding for a very brief moment.

Just over a minute later, Angeles scored upon being fed by McHugh to open a stretch of 12 straight goals against the wounded Gaels over the game's final 20 minutes. The score marked the third hat trick in her freshman campaign.

Upon Butler's last goal in the game and team-leading 24th this season with 19:15 left, Stair followed with a hat trick for the Lancers over the next three minutes to push the lead up to 14. Stair converted another free position shot before being assisted two straight times by McHugh at 44-minute mark and again two minutes later for her final score while Longwood surpassed its previous season-high with goal number 19 on the night.

Spanning the next nine minutes, the Lancers notched another string of five unanswered goals starting and ending with goals from sophomore attacker Charleigh Kondas which were set up by Butler. McHugh capitalized on a pass from freshman Jourdan Jones and then added an unassisted goal for her final two in the contest before setting up McKenzie's last score before Kondas scored the team's 24th.

The dual-threat seniors Butler and McHugh finished the game with a combined eight assists. McHugh, tallied a season-high five assists on the day to give Longwood's assists leader 20 on the season. Meanwhile, Butler's three helpers mark her second time this season of posting five goals and three assists.

The Gaels received back-to-back goals from Dalyrymple and Lauren Neumann to cut the Lancer lead to 7-4 before Longwood scored seven consecutive goals and never let St. Mary's get closer the rest of the way.

The Lancers could not be contained on the evening as they broke down the Gaels defense into committing 20 fouls, five of which led directly to free position attempts and extra goals. Longwood made the most of their free position opportunities, going a perfect 5-for-5 on free position shots in the game.

Junior goalkeeper Chelsea DiIonno picked up her first win of the season in the net for the Lancers, as she made three saves in 38 minutes, her most minutes logged this year. Dilonno and fellow goalkeeper Imani West, who had two stops in the contest, put in a combined effort to help Longwood hold St. Mary's to a season-low six goals allowed.

In addition to a strong offensive showing, the Lancers provided as much pressure on defense to force the Gaels into 19 turnovers in the game, 15 which were caused by a Longwood player. McKenzie, who leads the team in caused turnovers, forced a team-high four turnovers while junior defender Madelynn Rollins finished right behind with three.

Longwood will now return to the Commonwealth of Virginia for the third of three straight road games at George Mason on Saturday, March 19. First draw is set for 2 p.m.

#GoWood