On Saturday afternoon, the Longwood Lancers field hockey team clinched the East Division title of the Northern Pacific Conference (NorPac) with a 2-0 victory over Appalachian State. It was Senior Night for the Lancers and the seniors came up big to reach their 11th win of the season. According to longwoodlancers.com, this is the first time the Lancers field hockey team has reached 11 wins in a season since 2000, when they went 15-5. Senior forward Amanda Babineau and senior midfielder Sarah Bietsch scored the two goals for Longwood. Both goals came in the first period as the Lancers were in full control throughout the entire game.
The first goal came at the 20-minute mark when sophomore midfielder Stacey de Grandhomme delivered a pass to Babineau, who pushed it passed the goalie. Bietsch added the second goal at 29:23 when she received a pass from junior midfielder Christina Verhulst. Longwood outshot Appalachian State 17-6 and also had an edge with penalty corners 4-3. The defense's shutout was anchored by the recently named NorPac East Division defensive player of the week, junior goalkeeper Kaye Goulding, who had five saves. According to longwoodlancers.com, this was Goulding's third shutout of the season and the fourth time she has received this honor.
Before the match, Longwood recognized six seniors and their contributions to the field hockey program. The six players honored were forward Alison Akers, defender Rachel Akers, forward Amanda Babineau, midfielder Sarah Bietsch, defender Olga Knop and forward Lauren Sullivan.
Longwood completed their regular season with a record of 11-8. The Lancers were 5-1 in the NorPac, but the are not finished just yet. The Lancers travel across the country to Stanford, Calif. on Nov. 3 to start conference tournament play. Longwood has a number ranking from the East Division and will face off against the University of the Pacific, who is the fourth seed from the West Division. Longwood beat Pacific back on Oct. 6 with a 3-2 victory in overtime in Richmond, Va.
