FARMVILLE, Va. – Defense has long been a calling card for Longwood field hockey, and the Lancer defense showed out in a dominant performance for their home opener on Friday night at Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field.
 
The Lancer (2-1) back line sucked up all the oxygen and shut down Towson (0-2), blanking the Tigers in a 2-0 win that was Longwood's second shutout in three matches to start the 2021 fall campaign. The Lancers only surrendered three shots, with the only shot on goal coming late in the fourth quarter. That shot ended a stretch of more than 42 minutes of game time where Longwood didn't even allow a shot, including both the second and third quarters in their entirety.
 
"It feels great. I think we really worked as a team," said senior forward Jamie Wright. "We were struggling a little bit on our press last weekend, we fixed that. Our intensity got higher, and we started playing better as a team, got a lot of shots, and now they're turning into goals."
 
The defensive wall continually fed the offense, allowing Longwood to apply pressure all game long. Ana Paula Lazaro and Luna Lopez both broke through in the second quarter for goals, and the Lancers stayed aggressive and pushed the pace for the remainder of the match.
 
"It was a good first win at home," said Longwood head coach Iain Byers, now in his 14^th season at the helm. "I think we controlled large portions of the game. It never felt truly comfortable, which was actually nice that we managed to keep the tempo going and never took our foot off, which is something we talked about leading up to the game."
 
Longwood outshot Towson 21-3, but a heroic effort in goal by Lena Vandam kept the Tigers close, as the graduate student finished with 11 saves. The Lancers kept Vandam under duress by drawing 15 penalty corners, and seven players took a shot for Longwood.
 
"Even at 2-0, you're still one error away from a momentum shift," Byers said. "In games like this, that's huge. It was good that we didn't give them the opportunity to get that momentum shift, but I think we could have done a little better up front. At the same time, we took some opportunities. Sometimes they play well, sometimes it goes for you. Sometimes you have 20 shots and score two, sometimes you have two and score two. You take the rough with the smooth."
 
Vandam did yeoman's work in the first quarter, tallying five saves as Longwood generated four penalty corners that led to seven shots. Paula Lazaro was the first to unlock Vandam in the second quarter, deflecting Rio Weber's shot into the cage on a penalty corner. It was Paula Lazaro's first goal of the season.
 
With the defense playing so well, Lopez's goal near the end of the first half felt like the decisive blow. She sliced past Vandam along the endline to slot the goal home with less than 80 seconds to go in the half, her second goal of the young season.
 
The Lancers are back in action next weekend when they head to Old Dominion on Friday, Sept. 10 followed by a quick jaunt to William & Mary on Sunday, Sept. 12. They return home to host Bellarmine to open conference play on Sept. 18 at noon.
 
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