Six players received green card cautions during Longwood field hockey’s (6-11, 2-4) game against Kent State University (8-8, 5-0), currently undefeated in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
Longwood lost 1-0 to Kent State, losing any chance of being in the top four of the conference, as well as losing the opportunity to play in the postseason MAC tournament.
“It was a tough game against a strong team. We had a game plan that the team followed well. We knew we had to defend well and we did. We just need to execute and take our chances up front,” said head coach Iain Byers.
Junior forward captain, Jennifer Burris, made the lone Longwood shot of the first period in the first minute of the game. Kent State then answered with nine shots in that period, scoring their third shot in the 25th minute.
Kent State senior forward, Hannah Faulkner, made her 17th goal of the season.
There was a total of 29 shots against Longwood during the game, the majority of which tallied in the second period. Of these shots, 20 were on goal, forcing starting Longwood sophomore goalkeeper, Lauren Bernard, to come up with 18 saves to keep the Lancers in the game. Bernards 18 save game is the third-best single game preformance by a goalie in the NCAA this season, according to longwoodlancers.com.
“Lauren was fantastic in goal and came up big, time and time again,” Byers told longwoodlancers.com.
Kent State’s onslaught of shots were accumulated by a wide range of their players.
All field players experienced a number of fouls called on them throughout the game.
The more fouls called lessened the pressure on Longwood, by increasing the length of the game.
“We wanted to not allow them any moment so [we] did a good job of slowing the game down in [the] midfield,” said Byers.
There were eight fouls called in the first five minutes of the game, and three Longwood players were shown green cards throughout the duration of the game, two of which were shown to freshman defender, Lorissa Morton, and senior forward, Jessica Diaz, during the first period, and one to freshman defender, Lil-Sophie Achterwinter, in the second.
Although Bernard, who was named MAC Defensive Player of the Week for her performance, kept Longwood alive with a one-goal deficit, Kent State commanded the game and earned the win.
The Lancers only have one game left, coming up this Friday, Oct. 31, against Appalachian State (4-13), a non-conference game.
After a difficult season in the MAC, Byers thinks the team can return next fall and see much more improvement.
“The Mac is a tough league but we know we are not far away from being successful in it,” said Byers. “A good spring focusing on a few key elements will see us compete next year.”
