After traveling all the way to Central Michigan University, the Longwood Field Hockey team fell to the Chippewas in overtime with a final score of 4-3 this past Sunday, Oct. 4, 2014.
The Lancers fought hard throughout the game, leading the first period 2-1 and increasing the lead further to 3-1, making them even closer to earning another Mid-American Conference (MAC) win.
Going into the game, field hockey Head Coach Iain Byers and his team knew it was
important and had been working to fix mistakes from prior games leading to this one.
“The team was prepared and ready to go,” said Byers regarding their thoughts going into the game.
Longwood dominated the first period, leading in shots, with junior forward Jennifer Burris scoring the first goal of the game after only 11 minutes of play, her sixth of the season.
Freshman defender Sarah Vrhovac described Burris’ simple goal as “everything we’d been working on since preseason,” making it feel like everything was “coming together.”
Ten minutes later, freshman midfielder Ellen Ross added another goal to Longwood’s lead, her first of the season, building the team’s confidence even more. Even the last minute Central Michigan goal by Jordyn Brengosz couldn’t lower the team’s energy.
With the second period looking a lot like their successful first, especially after sophomore midfielder Hollie MacDonald’s goal from a penalty strike coming almost midway through the period, the Lancers felt their preparation was paying off.
Byers said Longwood was much more “effective” offensively and “clinical in front of the goal” than in previous games, which was one of the things they had been focused on in training.
However, only two and a half minutes after MacDonald’s goal, Central Michigan’s senior forward Cayleigh Immelman answered with a goal of her own, then another one only a minute later, tying the game up 3-3 in the 64th minute.
All it took was a three minute loss of focus on Longwood’s part, and Central Michigan was back in the game.
Despite the quick comeback, the team kept their heads up. Byers said that after the opposition scored the two goals, the air was still one of confidence on the Longwood side.
“We were playing good hockey and had been getting some chances up front all game,” Byers said, “we just hoped that we could take one.”
Remaining scoreless for the rest of the second period, the game went into its first, and only, overtime period.
During the overtime period, Longwood led in shots, having six chances at goal before Central Michigan had their first opportunity, which ended up deciding the game.
Immelman scored her third goal of the game and fifth of the season to defeat Longwood after 85 minutes of play. This was the fifth time the team has gone into overtime and the fourth time it has led to a loss.
This loss leaves Longwood with a 4-8 overall record and a 1-3 record in the conference.
Looking ahead, Longwood has six more games, two of which are against other MAC schools, remaining in their regular season.
Currently, Longwood is in fourth place; four schools go to the MAC Tournament for postseason play.
Byers is optimistic towards the team’s ability to play in the tournament. From this loss, the coach said the team will learn to conquer changes by the other team and see games all the way through to the end.
“We know we can still make the MAC championships and that is still our goal. All this does is make the route there a little more challenging,” he said. “But if this season has taught us anything as a team, it is how to overcome challenges and adversity.”
