Lacrosse Falls to Longwood, 15-14 in Back and Forth Affair

FARMVILLE, Va. – After being down by six goals at one point, the Old Dominion lacrosse team (3-3, 0-0 BIG EAST) came back to take the lead with less than six minutes to play, but Longwood (2-3, 0-0 Big South) regained the advantage and held on to defeat ODU, 15-14.
 
"We just gave up too much in the front end of the game," head coach Heather Holt said after the loss. "We got in a hole early, and we had to claw our way back, which we did, but we just couldn't hold onto the lead." 
 
After Brooke Stein scored the opening goal of the contest less than a minute into action to give the Monarchs the early lead, but the Lancers exploded for a 7-1 run, led by both Emma Johnson and Kaitlin Luccarelli, who each had two goals during the stretch. The Lancers then scored two of the next three goals to hold a 9-3 advantage with 16 minutes showing on the first half scoreboard. 
 
The Monarchs wouldn't go away, as they closed the half scoring four unanswered goals. Tess Meurling, Lilly Siskind and Caroline Shaefer each scored a free-position goal in the run and Glory Johnson netted the final goal of the half with 53 seconds remaining to cut the ODU deficit to just two goals, 9-7.
 
At the half, ODU outshot Longwood, 19-15 and the Monarchs went 5-for-5 in clear attempts. Longwood goalkeeper Danielle Burke stopped nine Monarch shots in the half.
 
Johnson opened the second-half scoring with a goal just under two minutes out of the break, taking a pass from Claire Porter and depositing it into the Longwood net. 
 
The Lancers scored twice to take a three-goal lead, but goals from Stein and Johnson cut the Monarch deficit back to just one goal, 11-10. 
 
Longwood then scored two more goals and extended its lead to three goals with just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation. ODU then went on a 4-0 run to take its first lead of the game since the first minute of the game. 
 
Siskind netted two goals, including the go-ahead tally with 5:58 remaining in the contest. Danielle Dundas and Michelle Hallman added the other two goals in the ODU streak, both on free-position attempts. 
 
Just over a minute after Siskind's go-ahead goal, the Lancers' Dana Joss knotted the game again, beating ODU goalie Brianna Blatter. Longwood took the lead for good after Lexi Davis netted the game-winning goal with 3:51 remaining on the clock, giving the Lancers a 15-14 win.
 
"They were better than us today," Holt continued. "We played hard the entire game, but you have to give Longwood credit."
 
Eight of ODU's 14 goals came on free-position shots, and the Monarchs held the shot advantage (32-31), the ground ball advantage (17-16) and the draw control advantage (17-14). The Monarchs were also successful on 10 of 11 clear attempts. 
 
Johnson and Siskind each scored three goals, while Johnson added an assist and brought down eight draw controls. Six other Monarchs registered goals in the contest, as Shaefer and Stein each netted two goals, while Dundas, Meurling, Hallman and Katie McGrain also beat the Burke for scores. Porter earned two assists in the effort. Coming off the bench in relief, Blatter saved 10 of the 16 shots on goal she faced for a save percentage of .625. 
 
The Monarchs will be back at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex on Wednesday, March 4 to begin a stretch of five consecutive home matches. ODU welcomes Davidson to Norfolk on Wednesday with the first draw control scheduled for 3 p.m.