FARMVILLE, Va. - The Longwood University field hockey team will look to improve on last year's 10-11 record and fourth-place finish at the Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference (NorPac) tournament during 2010. Third-year head coach Iain Byers and the Lancers return six starters and 15 total letterwinners from last year's squad and welcome six newcomers. Longwood is set to face a difficult schedule, including four matches against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Longwood opens the season on Friday, August 27, when it hosts Ball State University at 3 p.m. at the Athletics Complex in Farmville.

“The aim of this season is to continue the work we started in the spring with the development of the “competitive cauldron” within the team,” said Byers. “We have spent a lot of time focusing on the mental side of the game and how we function as a team and we are looking forward to reaping the benefits of all that hard work.”

“The goal this season is to play better hockey than we did last year. If we do that then the rest will take care of itself. We have learned over the last year that there are things that we can control and things that we cannot. If we execute the things we can well then we will be successful, the goals will come, the results will come and the team success that we all work hard for will follow.

“We feel that we have a great chance this year the team is ready to go, we have some great leaders throughout the team. Everybody wants to be successful and forget the disappointments of last year.

“This year's incoming class will really challenge the current team, which is great competition for starting spots. Recognition is something that will drive every individual forward. With every player working their hardest and pushing each other, the sky is the limit. The approach and the expectation of the team is geared towards accepting these challenges and using them in a positive way.”

Byers and the Lancers signed five new student-athletes for the 2010 season. Included in the group are two international signees in Kaye Goulding/Tickhill, England (Wakefield Girls) and Stacey de Grandhomme/Cape Town, South Africa (Table View). Goulding is a sophomore goalie that is expected to compete for the starting position while de Grandhomme should see significant playing time as an attacker with international experience. Other newcomers include freshmen Anne Pishko/Norfolk, Va. (Maury), Caitlin Smith/Hampton, Va. (Kecoughtan) and Allison Solan/Allentown, Pa. (Emmaus).

“I think everyone on the team was disappointed with our production in front of the goal last year and we have all worked hard this spring to improve that. We aim to see a real improvement in our finishing and execution in front of goal. Scoring goals and developing that killer instinct is critical to our success this year.”

The Lancers return junior Amanda Babineau/Stafford, Va. (Mountain View) and sophomore Taylor Bender/Harrisburg, Pa. (Central Dauphin) to the front line. Babineau three game-winning goals in 2009 while Bender scored one goal with a pair of assists.

“The midfield was in and out of game last year, not this one. This season our domination of the midfield is key to our success. It is something that all players are going to have to understand and implement. The ability to control a game comes from your midfield when you have the ball or when you don't.”

Longwood returns three senior starting midfielders in Lauren van de Kamp/Midlothian, Va. (Trinity Episcopal), Andrea Bastiaanse/Granby, Conn. (Granby Memorial) and Kimberly Sullivan/Fredericksburg, Va. (Stafford). van de Kamp is the leading returning scorer after notching seven goals and three assists last season. She also serves as the pusher on penalty corners.

“Defensively we were prone to giving up goals due to mental errors last season – that will not happen this year. We are preparing hard for those situations and will be a stronger team mentally and are not expecting to give away anything easily.”

The back line is led by returning starter Christine Verhulst/Yorktown, Va. (Grafton) and letterwinners in junior Rachel Akers/Virginia Beach, Va. (First Colonial), Bailey Rampey/Fredericksburg, Va. (Courtland) and Alison Akers/Virginia Beach, Va. (First Colonial). Sophomore goalkeeper Amy Lewis/Lewisville, N.C. (Forsyth Country Day) also returns after appearing in four games with three starts last season. Verhulst scored four goals with one assist for nine points and earned NorPac East Division Rookie of the Week honors twice.