FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood men's soccer team welcomes No. 15 West Virginia to the Longwood Athletics Complex Friday for a 5 p.m., kickoff on ESPN+.

The match was added after the Lancers had their Aug. 25 contest at Coastal Carolina cancelled. It will be the first time since Oct. 26, 2021 Longwood hosts a nationally ranked opponent. That night, No. 22 UNCG beat Longwood, 3-1, in Farmville. 

WVU is the highest-ranked opponent to visit Farmville since No. 13 UNCW came to town on Sept. 3, 2018 and claimed a 2-0 win. 

LAST TIME OUT

• The Lancers dropped a 2-1 match at Liberty Tuesday in Lynchburg, Va.
• The Flames scored just three minutes into action through Lucas Kelly, but Longwood controlled large stretches of the match, including earning 61 percent of possession and several quality scoring chances in the first half.
• Liberty's Elijah John doubled the Liberty lead in the 77th minute on an assist from Kelly.
• Longwood got on the scoreboard in the 84th minute when Syrus Conolly worked a give-and-go with Ezrah Serralde to beat goalkeeper Tyler Beck, but the hosts held on for the win.
• Youssou Ouendeno earned his first start in the Longwood nets, making two saves.

SERIES HISTORY

• Longwood and West Virginia have met once before in men's soccer, a 3-0 Mountaineers victory on Oct. 3, 2004, in Morgantown, W.Va.

LANCERS AGAINST THE SUN BELT

• Longwood is 1-17-1 all-time against teams currently part of the Sun Belt Conference.
• The Lancers' only win against teams from the league came Aug. 30, 2008 in Conway, S.C., by a 2-1 count in the Coastal Carolina Adidas Invitational.

SCOUTING WEST VIRGINIA

• West Virginia enters play at 3-1-1 on the season with home victories over Manhattan (5-2, Aug. 21) and La Salle (4-0, Aug. 25), as well as at No. 22 George Mason (6-4, on Sunday).
• Thirteenth-ranked Gardner-Webb knocked off the VWU at home, 1-0, on Sept. 3, ending the Mountaineers' 32-match home unbeaten streak dating to the 2022 season.
• Pablo Pozos leads WVU and the Sun Belt with five goals, including two in the team's last outing at Mason.
• Marcus Caldeira has a team-leading 12 points on four goals and four assists.
• The six goals against the Patriots were the most in a single match for West Virginia since the 2015 season when WVU accomplished the feat twice
• Goalkeeper Marc Bonnaire has played all five matches for West Virginia and has posted a 1.40 goals-against average and .667 save percentage with a pair of clean sheets.

PLAYING THE BEST

• The Lancers have an opportunity to play at least four teams currently ranked in the United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll this season.
• In addition to No. 15 West Virginia, Longwood is also slated for matchups with No. 7 Gardner-Webb, No. 12 High Point and No. 14 Virginia Tech.
• If the Runnin' Bulldogs, Panthers and Hokies remain in the rankings, it will be the first time Longwood will play that many  ranked teams in a single season.

• Longwood is currently 25th in the NCAA in shots on goal per game at 6.75.
• Additionally, the Lancers are 34th nationally in shots per game, averaging 25, a figure that also leads the Big South.
• Individually, Jose Coutinho is seventh in the country while leading the Big South with four shots per game.
• The Lancers are also 90th in the country with seven assists.

LANCERS PICKED THIRD IN BIG SOUTH POLL

• Longwood was selected to finish third in the Big South preseason coaches poll, announced on Aug. 13
• The team received 41 points in the voting to finish behind just High Point and Gardner-Webb, which earned 62 and 55 points, respectively. Those two schools split the first-place votes with 2024 regular-season champion Panthers garnering six and the Runnin' Bulldogs picking up the remaining two nods for the top spot.
• The third-place tag for Longwood represents a tie for the highest-ever finish in the Big South preseason poll, matching the 2022 squad.

NEXT UP

• Longwood travels former Big South foe Campbell on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
• The Fightin' Camels hold a 9-4-1 edge in the all-time series, including winning, 3-1, on Oct. 1, 2024 in Farmville.