The Longwood field hockey team kept their hopes alive during the MAC conference tournament with a commanding 5-1 victory over Central Michigan University on Oct. 22. Two early goals from junior forward Edel Nyland proved the difference for the Lancers, who improved to 8-8 and 2-3 in conference play.
"It's definitely a huge win for us," Nyland said on the official Longwood athletics website. "We knew coming into today, being where we are in the standings, that there was no option but to dominate, and we came out and did that from the start."
Nyland opened the scoring after just 33 seconds in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, following an assist from sophomore forward Leonie Verstraete. Nyland made it 2-0 in the 14th minute with her MAC-leading 16th goal of the season.
Sophomore forward Sophia DeFeo gave the Lancers a three-goal advantage in the 35th minute with her first goal of the season. Junior midfielder Maddie Kendrick notched the assist, and Longwood entered halftime with a 3-0 lead.
The Chippewas pulled one back through junior midfielder Carly Brengosz in the 39th minute, but Verstraete restored the visitors’ three-goal cushion in the 45th minute with a goal to go with her earlier assist.
Kendrick got in on the scoring action in the 64th minute with a goal to cap off the Lancers’ victory. The goal was also Kendrick’s first of the season, with junior forward Abbey Ripley picking up the assist.
"I'm proud of the way we played the game against a very combative Central Michigan team," Head coach Iain Byers said on the official Longwood athletics website. "We controlled large portions of the game and were very efficient with our execution in the first half, so that obviously makes us happy as a coaching staff and a team."
The four-goal margin was a just reward for the Lancers’ dominance, as they outshot the Chippewas 17-6, with 11 on target to the hosts’ five.
"It's exciting because we made a decision a few games back not to take the hard hits lying down," Nyland said on the official Longwood athletics website. "The coaches told us we had a chance to rewrite our story on how we would end this season. Today was another step in that story, and we plan on taking another step next weekend against Missouri State."
Longwood finishes their regular season at home on Oct. 29 against Missouri State, with a potential first-ever berth in the MAC conference tournament on the line.
"We know what we need to do," Byers said on the official Longwood athletics website. "We have one game to play in the MAC, and we know if we win that we put ourselves in a great position to make the postseason, which was our goal at the start of the season. There are still some things we need to work on, and we're looking forward to getting into it."
