The Lancers field hockey team lost at William & Mary on Friday Sept. 9 2-1 and lost at #9 ranked Duke on Sept. 11 1-0. Both games were hard fought, but Longwood came up a little short. Longwood was anchored by a strong defense in both games with junior goalkeeper Kaye Goulding recording 27 saves between the two games. Goulding had a career high of 14 saves versus the Tribe and 13 saves versus the Blue Devils. Even though the defense played well, two out of the three goals given up during these two games were from penalty strokes.
In the William & Mary game, the Lancers fell behind 1-0 in the first period. The damage could have been worse, but Goulding recorded nine out of her 14 saves in the first period. Early in the second period, William & Mary scored their second goal off of a penalty stroke. Then, a goal was scored by Longwood sophomore midfielder Stacey de Grandhomme at 61:52 with an assist from freshman forward Jessica Diaz. William & Mary had a total of eight penalty corners with only five for Longwood. The Tribe was able to get off 21 shots, while the Lancers were only able to get five shots off. Even with the low number of shots taken, the Lancers had an opportunity to tie the game in the 66thminute when senior forward Lauren Sullivan took a shot. The Tribe's junior goalkeeper Elizabeth Frey was all over it and saved the game-tying goal.
On Sunday, Sept. 11 with everyone's emotions riding high on the ten-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks, Longwood traveled to Durham, N.C. to battle ninth-ranked Duke University. Longwood played a tough game against one of the top teams in the country, as the game was scoreless for the first 68 minutes. The defense played outstandingly led by Goulding's 13 saves. Duke had a total of 25 shots proving how strong Longwood's defense played throughout the game. The Blue Devils' defense was just as strong because Longwood could only get off a total of two shots. Although the defense played strong, they were a little aggressive, which gave Duke ten penalty corners. The penalty corners eventually became too much for the Lancers as the game-winning goal was scored on a penalty stroke. Meanwhile, Longwood did not have a single penalty corner.
Longwood is currently 2-4 this season. They are 1-3 on a five-game road trip which finishes up on Thursday, Sept. 15 at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond.
