COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Junior forward Edel Nyland registered her second multi-goal game in a week, scoring twice to lift Longwood past Villanova 4-3 Friday afternoon and extend the program's best start of the Division I era.
 
The 3-1 Lancers erupted for three goals after halftime to break a 1-1 deadlock against the Wildcats (0-3) and jump out to their most successful start in 10 years of Division I competition. Nyland and frontline mates Leonie Verstraete and Olivia Wawrzyniak teamed up to score back-to-back-to-back goals within a four-minute span in the second half to stake a 4-1 lead that was just enough to outlast Villanova's late charge.
 
Longwood's three wins within the first four games of 2016 bests the 2-2 starts achieved by the 2014, 2013 and 2011 squads. The historic opening to the 2016 campaign comes amid a grueling stretch of five games within a 10-day span, a gauntlet that concludes fewer than 48 hours from Friday's win when the Lancers head to Lafayette for a noon showdown Sunday.
 
"This was one of our more disconnected performances we've had so far this season," said ninth-year Longwood head coach Iain Byers. "We know we can play better, and we plan to play better at Lafayette. Four games in such a short period of time is obviously a bit tough, so we have to re-focus and come back stronger Sunday."
 
Longwood's lone loss during the first two weeks of the season came at the hands of No. 19 James Madison 6-2 this past Tuesday, but the Lancers rebounded from that in a big way by edging Villanova Friday in the first meeting between the schools.
 
Villanova scored the first goal of the game, taking a 1-0 lead on a second-chance score from Abby Siana in the 12th minute. That advantage stood until Nyland put Longwood on the board in the 23rd minute, repaying Villanova's putback goal with one of her own.
 
Longwood's backline, led by the defensive tandem of Lil-Sophie Achterwinter and Ellen Ross, took over through the end of the first half, allowing Villanova just three shots until the whistle to keep the game evened at 1-1. Junior goalkeeper Lauren Bernard stopped the two of those that were on target as part of a six-save day, setting the stage for Longwood's offensive onslaught that followed in the second half.
 
After halftime, it took the Lancers just seven minutes to take the lead for good when Nyland netted her second straight goal on a sequence that began with a long connection from Achterwinter in the neutral zone. That goal opened the flood gates for the Lancers, who followed with another goal from Verstraete less than one minute later and another from Wawrzyniak within the next three minutes.
 
The Lancer defense kept that 4-1 lead intact until Villanova broke a nearly 50-minute scoreless drought in the 61st minute when Allison Sayia found the net on a penalty stroke to pull Villanova back within two goals. Bernard came up big in the ensuing minutes, stopping back-to-back shots on goal from Emma McLaughlin before the Wildcats scored after the buzzer on penalty corner putback by Kristen Mericle.
 
The Lancers will have a chance to become the Mid-American Conference's first four-win team Sunday at Lafayette in their second of four straight road games.
 
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