All good things come to an end, even a season as good as Longwood's. Following a program-record second-place finish in the Big South, the resurgent Lancers (8-9) mounted a late comeback in the semifinals of the Big South Championship but fell short to conference power Winthrop 12-9 Friday evening at Vert Stadium. Longwood entered the four-team tournament as one of the hottest teams in the Big South, riding a five-game winning streak that included a 14-4 regular-season win over the Eagles on April 13. However, Winthrop's postseason experience shined through, as the two-time Big South Champions rode three goals and two assists from Big South Freshman of the Year Mia Creighton and nine saves from All-Big South goalkeeper Alaina Girani to the upset win. The victory punched the Eagles' ticket to a their fourth Big South championship game where they will face two-time reigning champion and No. 1 seed High Point Sunday at 2 p.m. The semifinal loss bookends a bounceback season for the Lancers in which they overcame a 2-7 non-conference start to win six of their final seven regular season games, including five straight in Big South play. Longwood accomplished that with a roster that featured just one senior, and for that effort seventh-year head coach Elaine Jones was named Big South Coach of the Year for the first time in her career. However, the Big South semifinal game was the first trip to the conference's final four for any player on Longwood's roster, compared to the sixth straight semifinal appearance for Winthrop's program. That advantage showed itself in the second half when the Eagles came out of the gate with a 7-1 run in the first 20 minutes of the second half. That surge broke open a game that was tied 5-5 at halftime and gave the seasoned Eagles a large enough cushion to withstand Longwood's 3-0 run over the game's final 10 minutes. "It's tough to beat a team twice, and we knew Winthrop would be a battle the second time around," Jones said. "This was a stage this team hadn't been on before, and I could see some nerves at various times. There were times when the pressure of the moment got in the way of our execution, and unfortunately, those are lessons you can only learn once you've been put in those situations. "That said, getting to play in this game, and accomplishing everything we did to earn the opportunity gives us something we can build on for the future. I'm proud of our team and what we were able to accomplish despite our youth." Longwood's finale to its bounceback season was spoiled by a stonewall effort in goal by Girani, who stopped nine of the 18 shots she faced, including multiple at point-blank range. She made six of those stops in the second half, including two on back-to-back shots by Taylor Blenckstone in the final two minutes of the game. Those final two stops stifled a burgeoning rally that saw Longwood score three straight goals to cut Winthrop's lead from 12-6 to 12-9. Sophomore Emma Johnson scored two of those final three goals, the first of which came in response to Winthrop's game-breaking 5-0 run that turned a one-goal lead to six. Creighton scored twice for the Eagles during that span with both of those goals coming in a span of 43 seconds. Johnson's response sparked Longwood's final rally, which continued with a strike by All-Big South first-teamer and Big South scoring leader Kaitlin Luccarelli and concluded with Johnson's final goal of the night. Junior Lexi Davis assisted on the last of those two goals as part of a five-assist game in which she dished helpers to four different players. Two of those went to freshman and All-Big South attacker Nicole Fordyce, who led Longwood with three goals. "Losing this game doesn't take away from how well we played in conference and how we got ourselves here," Jones said. "It stings a little because we weren't able to move forward, but I'm proud of everyone's fight. I definitely think we have all the tools to make a run next year, but it's a long journey. It starts in August, and you have to be willing to put in the work all year despite all the bumps and roadblocks along the way." Every one of those aforementioned Lancers will return to the team in 2020 along with a nine-member junior class that made up half of Longwood's starting lineup this year. That junior cohort includes three of Longwood's four All-Big South selections in defender Corri Calandra, midfielder Dana Joss and Luccarelli and starters Davis, Jordan Howard, Hannah Tirrell and Olivia Zubillaga. #GoWood