FARMVILLE, Va. – Miami freshman Claudia Negrete broke through for the game-winning goal with 1:23 remaining as the RedHawks remained unbeaten with a 2-1 win over Longwood on Friday afternoon at Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field.
 
The preseason favorites in the Mid-American Conference and the three-time defending MAC Tournament champions, Miami had its shutout streak of three-games snapped in the first quarter when Caroline Verhappen gave Longwood an early 1-0 lead. However, the Miami offense rallied as senior forward and 2019 All-MAC First Team Allie Grace Joyner tallied her second goal of the season to tie the game, while the freshman Negrete picked up her MAC-best fourth goal of the season with her late game-winner.
 
"It's disappointing to lose in such a manner," said Longwood head coach Iain Byers. "We played some combative hockey throughout the game against a strong team, and kept it tight the entire way."
 
Longwood limited Miami's high-powered offense, which has averaged a MAC-best 19.3 shots per game, to just 11 shots and five on goal. Negrete tallied four of those shots for the RedHawks, as she and Leonor Berlie each tallied two shots on goal.
 
Madison Nuckols, making her first career start for Longwood, made three saves, playing behind the strong Longwood defensive backline of Kolbey Donahue, Rio Weber, and Ana Paula Lazaro as well as four Lancer midfields who logged over 40 minutes in Luna Lopez, Charlotte Wilm, Sophia Loscher, and Cammy Toddy.
 
Longwood recorded five shots on Friday, led by Verhappen's first career goal late in the first quarter that gave the Lancers a 1-0 lead. After Luna Lopez received the insert pass on Longwood's penalty corner and slid it to Vehappen, the sophomore ripped a shot into the right side of the net to put the Lancers in front 12:40 into the game.
 
The Longwood lead held until just under nine minutes into the second quarter, where Joyner's goal tied the game at 1-1. After Nuckols denied Negrete from point-blank range, the senior pounced on the rebound and buried a shot to even the score, which held until halftime.
 
After just two total shots in the fourth quarter, each side turned up the offensive pressure in the fourth. Miami nearly took the lead at the 51:50 mark on Berlie's penalty corner shot attempt for Miami, but Nuckols denied her with her third save of the game to keep the score level at 1-1. The Lancers were awarded a corner of their own with 4:10 to play, but Lopez's shot from the left side of the circle caught the side of the cage wide to keep the score at 1-1.
 
With 1:23 remaining, Negrete finally broke the tie and buried the game-winner for the RedHawks. The Santander, Spain native dribbled through traffic in the Lancer circle, blasting a shot into the right side of the Longwood goal to put Miami on top, as they would hold on to win 2-1.
 
In total, Longwood held the edge in penalty corners 5-4, while Miami held a 3-2 edge in saves, led by Isabelle Persese's sixth win of the season.

"We are excited to get back in action tomorrow," added Byers. "We want to prove that we can play better hockey."
 
Game two of the back-to-back set between Longwood and Miami is scheduled for Saturday, March 20 at 2 p.m.
 
#GoWood