The Longwood University field hockey team dropped a 3-0 match against Stanford University in the first Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference (NorPac) semifinal match on Friday, Nov. 5. The tournament was held in Davidson, N.C. The East #2 seed Lancers fell to 7-13 on the year while the West #1 seed Cardinals stretched their record to 13-5. "We gave Stanford too much space and time in the first half," said third-year Head Coach Iain Byers. "We played better hockey in the second half. We are disappointed with the result and the end of our championship hopes."
The Cardinals gained an early advantage with a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute on a goal by Becky Dru off a pass from Xanthe Travlos. Stanford added another goal to the lead in the 16th minute when Katherine Swank deflected a wayward shot into the cage to put the Cardinals ahead 2-0. The third goal was scored by the Cardinal's Emily Henriksson in the 25th minute. Stanford really outplayed the Lancers, outshooting Longwood 10-3 in the opening period.
Longwood's defense rallied in the second half and limited Stanford to only four shots. Longwood had chance to score on a corner attempt, but the opportunity was stymied when Stanford goalkeeper Alessandra Moss deflected a shot by junior Olga Knop that was headed for the cage.
For the match, Stanford outshot Longwood 14-5 and held a 7-5 advantage in penalty corners. Sophomore Kaye Goulding made five saves and let three goals get past her in 70 minutes for the Lancers, while Moss made a pair of saves for Stanford. Longwood was led offensively by Knop with three shot attempts, including two of the Lancers shots on goal. Dru led the Cardinals offensively with one goal and one assist, while Travlos added a pair of assists and four shot attempts.
The field hockey team then defeated Davidson College 2-0 on Saturday, Nov. 6 in Davidson to come in third place in the NorPac Tournament. The Lancers were led by senior Lauren van de Kamp and sophomore Brittany Diaz who each scored one goal against the Wildcats (14-8) during the match. Longwood's record was 2-1 in the NorPac Tournament, finishing in third place for the second time in three seasons. The Lancers final record for the season was 8-13 after winning five of their final six matches. Coach Byers was happy that his team closed the season on a hot streak.
"We played well today," said Byers. "Davidson is a great attacking team, but we controlled their shooting and executed efficiently. It was a bit nerve-wracking at the end when we went down to 10 players, but we fought through it. We're proud of how we played and the third-place finish. It was especially nice for our three seniors. We wouldn't have made it to this point in the season without their leadership. They've all worked individually and as a group to help this season end on a positive note."
Longwood was in command of the match for most of the first half, outshooting Davidson 10-4 in the opening period alone. Goulding recorded the shutout with three saves in the first half, including two back-to-back saves in the 11th minute. The Lancers had several opportunities to score and put some distance on Davidson in the opening period, but Davidson's goalkeeper Sarah Fisher kept the match scoreless at the half.
In the second half, Longwood took a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute when Diaz received an assist from senior Kimberly Sullivan and scored. The Lancers scored again in the 63rd minute when van de Kamp sent a penalty corner into the cage and scored to push the lead to 2-0. Longwood played tough over the final minutes to get the win.
The Lancers outshot the Wildcats 17-7. A 9-5 advantage in penalty corners also helped Longwood get the victory. Goulding finished the match with three saves. Freshman Stacey de Grandhomme attempted five shots, the most of any player during the match. Fisher finished with seven saves and two goals allowed in 70 minutes. The Wildcats were led offensively by Finley Amato with two shots.
