WASHINGTON, D.C. – No journey is free of obstacles. Longwood women's soccer ran into one Thursday night.
 
Four days after a 4-0 win over Richmond that was one of their most dominant in the Division I era, the Big South preseason No. 2 Lancers (1-2-0) stumbled on the road and fell 2-0 to unbeaten American at Reeves Field.
 
In an evenly matched game, it was American (2-0-1) that made the most of its opportunities, scoring on a set piece goal in the 14th minute and holding off the Lancers until late in the second half when Yari Bradfield iced the game with her second goal of the night.
 
"Honestly we can't say that we deserved more than we got in that game," said Longwood head coach Todd Dyer. "It was a pretty inconsistent effort for us on both sides of the ball, and we just weren't able to sort it out and work past that."
 
Bradfield, a senior forward who now leads the Patriot League with three goals, became the first player to score multiple goals in a single game against the Lancers in nearly two years, dating back to Sept. 4, 2016 when Youngstown State's Ernestina Abambila scored twice in a 3-1 Longwood loss. American, meanwhile, became the first team to score twice against the defensive-minded Lancers this season and only the third since Longwood's 2017 Big South runner-up season.
 
"Conceding on a set piece in the first half probably unsettled us a bit, but now that's two straight road games in which we haven't scored a single goal," Dyer said. We can't expect to win games shooting blanks like that."
 
Longwood and American matched each other with 11 shots apiece, with the Eagles putting seven on goal and the Lancers targeting six. However, American goalkeeper Ryleigh Brown dispatched all six shots she faced to pick up her second shutout of the season and lower her goals against average to 0.62, fourth-lowest in the Patriot League.
 
American keeps its unbeaten record intact and has now outscored opponents 7-2 on the season, including 5-0 at home.
 
The loss is the second setback of the season for the Lancers, who also dropped a 1-0 overtime nail-biter at Conference USA's preseason No. 3 Charlotte in the season opener. Longwood, which has shut out four consecutive opponents at home since 2017, will still be looking for its first road win of the season when it continues its two-game road trip Sunday at Towson.
 
"It won't get any easier Sunday, so it's time to put this behind us and use what we've learned here tonight to get better," Dyer said.
 
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