Farmville, VA – Stetson lacrosse delivered a defensive masterclass in a 9-8 victory over Longwood on Tuesday evening. Maddie Eckert was exceptional in goal, posting a 50% save percentage.

Samantha King kicked off the scoring with an assist to Kaitlin Pani before the game was quickly tied. The Lancers took a one-goal lead, but Miya Scanlan responded with a free position goal to knot the score at 2. Katie Kornacki then put the Hatters ahead 3-2 as the first quarter came to a close.

Longwood answered with three consecutive goals to start the second quarter. Kathleen Nichols ended the streak with her first goal of the game, and Pani tied it at 5 with an assist from Scanlan. The Lancers regained the lead, but King netted a goal with 90 seconds left to tie it at 6, and the score remained deadlocked heading into halftime.

Nichols gave Stetson the lead in the second half with a free position goal to make it 7-6. After a key steal in the defensive zone, Scanlan scored in transition on a pass from Pani to extend the Hatters' lead. Scanlan added another goal to put Stetson up by three, but it was waved off, negating her hat trick.

The Lancers pulled within one to start the fourth quarter, but Pani responded with a beautiful goal off an assist from Scanlan to put the Hatters up 9-7. Longwood answered with a goal but Stetson held firm as they worked to preserve their lead. With 30 seconds remaining, Eckert made a spectacular save to keep the game from being tied, and the Hatters held on for the 9-8 win.

Stetson will head to Lynchburg to face Liberty in their conference opener on Thursday, March 6.