FARMVILLE, Va. – Beginning their 2021 Mid-American Conference slate against reigning regular season champion Kent State, Longwood field hockey shutdown the Golden Flashes in a 1-0 win on Friday afternoon at Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field.
With the win, Longwood improves to 2-0 to start the 2021 campaign, their first time beginning with a pair of wins since 2016. Friday's win also marks their second-consecutive regular season victory over preseason No. 2 Kent State, and avenges a 2-1 loss at the hands of the Golden Flashes in the semifinals of the MAC tournament in 2019.
Tied at 0-0 late in the third quarter, Lancer freshman
Ana Paula Lazaro flipped an entry pass from the sideline over the top of the Kent State defense in front of the Golden Flashes' net. Longwood's
Floor Schouten raced to the bouncing ball, punching it out of the air and past Kent State goalkeeper Azure Fernsler into the net to record the game's lone goal.
The Lancer defense ensured the lead would hold, limiting the Golden Flashes to just five total shots. Longwood goalkeeper
Abigail Goldberg, making her second career start, stopped all three shots that got through the stingy Lancer backline, recording her first career shutout in a 1-0 victory.
"I'm really happy with the performance," said Longwood head coach
Iain Byers. "We had a great game plan and the team executed it so well. We know it's only half done, and we are excited for the challenge of a back-to-back game. We are keen to get going tomorrow and see what we can do again."
The Lancer defense withheld five total Kent State penalty corners, as well as a 3:12 stretch in which Kent State played with an extra attacker after pulling their goalkeeper. Longwood's defensive unit was led by five players who eclipsed the 40-minute mark in
Luna Lopez,
Kolbey Donahue,
Rio Weber,
Caroline Verhappen, and Lazaro.
On offense, Longwood held a 7-to-5 advantage in shots, including five on goal.
Isis Vrolijks and
Karly Harwood each lead the team with two.
After a holding the Golden Flashes without a shot in the opening quarter, Kent State's potent offense answered with four attempts in the second period. Goldberg, who has allowed just one goal in 120 minutes in 2021, made three saves in the period to keep the Golden Flashes at bay.
Vrolijks nearly broke the ice for Longwood in the final seconds of the first half, getting behind the Kent State defense and ripping a shot that was stopped by Fernsler, one of her four saves Friday afternoon, and ended the first half scoreless, 0-0.
Longwood started the second half strong, not allowing a shot on goal in the third quarter while tallying the game's lone goal. Schouten's goal at the 42:19 mark, the fourth of her career, gave the Lancers a 1-0 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Longwood defense stood tall in the final ten minutes, as they held off Kent State despite two late penalty corners to seal the win. All-MAC forward Emma Bressler recorded the last shot for Kent State with 57:46 to play on a set play from a corner, but the attempt was blocked by the Longwood backline who cleared the ball and sealed the win.
Kent State and Longwood will be right back at it, with game two of the back-to-back set scheduled for Saturday, March 13 in Farmville, Va. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ starting at 1 p.m.
#GoWood
