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LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Eleonore Agneessens (Brussels, Belgium) and senior Bianca Jones (Watertown, Mass.) connected in the 90th minute of a double-overtime thriller to secure a 4-3 victory for the UMass Lowell field hockey team (2-0) against Longwood University (1-1) on Sunday afternoon at Wicked Blue Field.
 
"It's unbelievable. We've been in preseason for 17 days and our hashtag has been 'no days off,' so we were looking to come into what we knew would be a tough game and give it our all to come out on top," said 13th-year head coach Shannon Hlebichuk. "It comes down to mental toughness and I think our training over the last 17 days has prepared us for a game like that and we certainly showed it in the second overtime."
 
The decision-maker was the fourth shot of the second overtime period and the River Hawks' second in extra time. Agneessens gained possession of the ball near the 25-yard line and pushed a pass forward to Jones, who was all alone at the top of the circle to take the shot that bounced high past the Lancers' keeper.
 
"We were all so tired and really fighting for the game to end. I saw the ball bouncing towards me and just knew I needed to hit it on goal," Jones said. "I didn't care if it was pretty or not, just that it went in."
 
"Any time you can go 2-0 to open the season on your home field is super important," added Hlebichuk. "I think it's going to set the tone for us for the rest of the season because we know that we can win. We know how to win now, so we'll take a lot away from this weekend and use it going forward."
 
The teams played evenly matched for the majority of the contest, as Longwood took just a slight, 17-15 shot advantage, and UMass Lowell forced five corners compared to four for the Lancers. Freshman goalkeeper Kelsey Federico (Windham, N.H.) anchored the River Hawks' backfield with six saves in her second-consecutive win.
 
The River Hawks took an early 1-0 advantage as sophomore Georgia Cowderoy (Ashmore, Queensland, Australia) sent a pass to the right side for Agneessens, who fired hard and low past the opposing keeper. Longwood answered with less than 21 minutes remaining in the first half, as Hollie MacDonald took control of the ball during a scramble in front of the cage and found the top corner to knot the score at 1-1. Although UMass Lowell threatened on a breakaway, the visitors broke the stalemate on a backhand shot from Jennifer Burris that went top shelf at 11:51, giving Longwood a 2-1 buffer at the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, the River Hawks took control of the momentum and forced a corner less than five minutes in. On the play, senior Chelsea Chronopoulos (Tyngsborough, Mass.) made the stick stop before passing to junior Sophie Watt (Sawtell, Australia), who dished to Cowderoy for the hard shot on goal to make it a 2-2 game.
 
The teams traded possessions over the next 15 minutes, during which Federico made a great save in a 1-on-1 breakaway situation, kicking the ball out of play. With 8:45 remaining in the contest, Cowderoy dribbled through the right side of the circle before slotting a pass towards the left post where Jones was set up for the tip in to give UMass Lowell the 3-2 edge. However, the back-and-forth action continued as the Lancers' Edel Nyland took a pass from midfield that she pushed on goal to force the overtime action.
 
Sunday's contest marked the first meeting ever between UMass Lowell and Longwood in the sport of field hockey. The River Hawks return to action on Friday, September 5 when the squad hosts in-state opponent Holy Cross of the Patriot League in a 7 p.m. tilt.