FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood field hockey came into Saturday's contest outscoring opponents 12-1 in the first three games of their homestand behind a strong defense and potent attack. The Lancers' latest win was fueled by that same recipe as Longwood notched another 4-1 win, this time over Mid-American Conference newcomer Appalachian State.

In their 34th all-time meeting, Longwood (9-1, 2-0 MAC) took a 1-0 lead over the Mountaineers (3-7, 1-3 MAC) into the break behind Leonie Vertraete's first goal of the afternoon in the 19th-minute on a perfect feed from Edel Nyland. Verstraete finished off the opportunity with a backhanded goal from five feet away for the only strike of the opening half.

After having multiple looks on goal in those opening 35 minutes, the Lancer offense came alive in the second half as seniors Lil-Sophie Achterwinter and Nyland stretched the lead to 3-0 before Verstaete put the final Lancer goal in the net in the 52nd-minute.

"I didn't really say anything. The team covered their points in the debrief that they do amongst themselves," said 10th-year head coach Iain Byers on the halftime adjustments that led to the three-goal outburst in the second half. "They're getting pretty good at evaluating games themselves, which makes you proud as a coach. We talked about having a higher circle efficiency, a little bit better press work and a little tighter coverage on them to not allow them to pick us apart with passes."

Byers added, "In the second half we came out and the level of press was a lot higher. It wasn't low in the first half, but in the second half it definitely was upped a notch. That led to errors and those errors are what really helped us get a foothold on the game. We said it was going to be close and we needed to extend out and the ladies did just that."

Achterwinter's third goal of the season came on a penalty stroke in the 38th-minute to open the lead to 2-0 before Nyland beat a defender a fired a backhanded rocket just 10 minutes later and stretch the Lancer lead to 3-0 at the time.

"It's not one person, we're all working together and we're all getting the highs from the wins. They just keep coming and we just keep feeding off that energy," said senior forward Abbey Ripley. "I think this performance shows how much of a team effort it was, and I think everyone worked really hard and the performance and score showed that."

Appalachian State's Rebecca McLean found the backboard for the first time of the 2017 season on a second-half penalty corner for the lone Mountaineer tally of the afternoon and end the shutout bid. McLean took a strong feed from Taylor Cimbalist on the corner and buried a shot into the bottom left corner past the stick of two-time MAC Defensive Player of the Week Katie Wyman.

Across the four-game home stretch, Longwood outscored opponents 16-2, including an 8-1 margin inside MAC play with 4-0 and 4-1 wins over Central Michigan and Appalachian State on back-to-back Saturdays. The latest victory was also the Lancers 34th all-time meeting with the Mountaineers, tying the program record for most contests against a single opponent. In the all-time series, Longwood has a strong 28-6 lead including three consecutive victories and a 17-1 record since the Lancers made the jump to Division I 11 seasons ago.

Wyman and the defense was stellar yet again as the lone two goals across the homestand were scored on penalty corners late in the second half of games that had been one-sided.

After the strong home stretch, Wyman still leads the conference in goals allowed (8), goals against average (1.01) and shutouts (4) while Longwood boasts a MAC-best 2.64 scoring margin.

"I think we're just playing as a team – moving the ball around a lot and trying to find a shot and trying to help teammates keep their options open," said redshirt-sophomore Clara Meschini. "On defense we're doing a really good job at trying to stay ahead of the attackers' movements. We're trying to work off each other and make sure we're strong on defense. On our outlets, we've just tried to keep our composure."

Thanks to the four-game run at home, the Lancers are riding a season-best five-game win streak as they step back out of conference play to tangle with No. 25 nationally-ranked American Sunday afternoon.

"We've got to play them tough. They're going to be a good team and they're ranked. I think they're probably one of the strongest opponents we've had for a while,' Byers said of Longwood's showdown with national-ranked American. "We're playing with confidence and we're playing well. It's going to be a good test for us as we go into the last four conference games. It's good to be 2-0, it's great to be 9-1, but we're looking forward to the challenge.

Byers added, "I think they're going to play the ball fast and hard so we're going to have to step up and play a good game of hockey. It's a good test for us."

Sunday's contest kicks off a tough October slate for the Lancers who hit the road five times over their final six contests including three at MAC foes Ohio, Miami (OH) and reigning champ Kent State. Game time against the Eagles is set for 1 p.m. from the nation's capital in Washington, D.C.

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