FARMVILLE, Va. — The Longwood women's soccer team closes a five-match homestand Saturday, hosting USC Upstate at 2 p.m., on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT
- Chloe Edwards scored the go-ahead goal in the 75th minute last Saturday as High Point rallied past Longwood, 2-1, in both teams' Big South Conference opener at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
- High Point opened the scoring in the 25th minute when Aleena Ulke scored off of an assist by Taylor Howarth for a 1-0 lead.
- Longwood equalized in the 32nd minute when McKenna Vogel scored her second goal of the season off set-piece service from senior Coryn Silberstein. The Farmville native's header beat High Point goalkeeper Nylah Mirshafiei high into the roof of the net.
- Longwood goalkeeper Madie Wessel made four saves, while Mirshafiei stopped three shots.
- Longwood's Taylor Martin recorded two shots on goal, while Vogel finished with two shots, both on target, including her goal. Peyton Curney added three shots for the Lancers.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST USC UPSTATE
- Longwood holds an 5-4-2 edge in the all-time series against USC Upstate, dating to 2002, including a 4-1-0 mark in Farmville.
- The Lancers and Spartans drew, 1-1, in the 2025 Big South semifinals in Mathews, N.C. on Nov. 6 with Upstate advancing to the championship match, 6-5 on penalties.
- The last Longwood win in the series came on Oct. 14, 2023 by a 2-0 count at home. Julia Gill (50th minute and Peyton Curney (83rd) scored for the Lancers while Mary Kate Levush made three saves for a clean sheet.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
- USC Upstate is 5-2-3 overall and 1-0-0 in the Big South after topping Charleston Southern, 2-1, on the road on Wednesday.
- The Spartans had their league opener with Radford suspended in the 75th minute due to weather last Saturday leading, 2-0.
- Seven different players have scored goals for Upstate, led by Liana Bryant who has six goals and three assists for 15 points while starting all 10 matches.
- Jasmyn Mitchner has four goals and three assists for 11 points.
- Annabelle Wunderlich, Katelyn Economopoulos, Lily MacCausland and Danielle Trovato have two goals apiece for a team that averages 1.9 goals per game.
- Hannah Wilt has earned nine starts in goal for Upstate and has a 1.29 goals-against average and .796 save percentage.
BAGELS
- With four clean sheets in 10 matches so far this season, Longwood is tops in the Big South and 108th in the nation in shutout percentage at .400.
- Freshman Brynn Clagett blanked American, 3-0, and VMI, 1-0, in consecutive matches on the road on Aug. 23 and 27.
- Junior Madie Wessel followed with a six-save 0-0 shutout at Richmond on Sept. 3 in her first collegiate start and just second-ever appearance.
- Wessel then helped the Lancers to a 1-0 win over Hampton on Sept. 6.
WESSEL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Junior goalkeeper Madie Wessel was named Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 8.
- Wessel made the first two starts of her career in net for Longwood, keeping clean sheets in both last week for the Lancers.
- She turned aside six shots in a scoreless draw at Richmond on Sept. 3, five of which came after halftime, and followed it with a second shutout as Longwood beat Hampton, 1-0, at home on Sept. 6.
- In six matches this season — her first action as a collegian — Wessel is 1-2-2 with a 1.00 goals-against average, .792 save percentage and 19 saves.
BERNICE!
- Junior Berni Wayland was named Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 24.
- The West Linn, Ore., native, anchored a backline that limited American to just two shots, including one on goal, as Longwood blanked the Eagles, 3-0, on Aug. 23.
- Wayland played all 90 minutes in the Lancers' first win of the season and also did so in the season opener against Campbell on Aug. 13.
- The weekly honor is the third of Wayland's career. She earned Big South Freshman of the Week plaudits in consecutive weeks on Oct. 14 and 21, 2024.
A LOOK BACK
- Longwood went 9-7-3 overall and 5-3-0 in the Big South, posting its best record since going 13-5-3 overall and 6-1-2 in the league in 2017.
- The Lancers advanced to at least the Big South semifinals a season ago for the fifth time in program history.
- Forward Sam Fischer was named Big South Freshman of the Year and first team all-league. She was joined on the all-conference team by first-team defender Sydney Robertson, second-team midfielder Meghan Piazza and second-team goalkeeper Sara Curtis.
FRESH FACES
- Longwood has added eight newcomers to its 2026 roster, including four transfers and four freshmen.
- Among the transfers are junior Maddy Howells (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) and sophomores Bailey Altizer(Eastern Kentucky) Brooke Owens (VCU) and Farmville native McKenna Vogel, who spent her freshman season at Campbell.
- Vogel, coached by Stuart Carilli at Prince Edward County High School, appeared in 10 matches, making two starts, for the Camels in 2025.
LANCERS PICKED THIRD IN BIG SOUTH POLL
- Longwood was selected to finish third in the Big South preseason coaches poll, announced on Aug. 6.
- The Lancers earned 63 points in the poll to finish ahead of USC Upstate in fourth with 58 points and the remaining first-place nod. Charleston Southern (43 points) was fifth, followed by Winthrop (32) in sixth, UNC Asheville (29) in seventh and Gardner-Webb (22) in eighth. Presbyterian rounded out the voting in ninth place with 13 points.
- High Point (76 points, seven first-pace votes and 76 points) is the preseason favorite in the league. Radford was chosen second with 69 points and one first-place nod.
- It marks just the third time in history the Lancers were picked in that position. Longwood was also third in 2019 and 2014, respectively.
FISCHER BIG SOUTH PRESEASON FORWARD OF THE YEAR
- Sophomore Sam Fischer was named Big South Preseason Forward of the Year in the Big South.
- Fischer is just the second Longwood player to earn a major preseason award since the Lancers joined the conference for the 2012 season. Sydney Wallace was Big South Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in 2018.
- Fischer, the Big South Freshman of the Year and a first-team all-league pick last season, led the Lancers in goals (seven) and points (16). She was named Freshman of the Week two times and Player of the Week once while playing in all 19 matches with seven starts.
- Fischer opened her Longwood career with nine points in her first three matches on four goals and one assist.
- Fischer saw her first action of 2026 in the ETSU match Aug. 30, coming back from injury to provide a spark off the bench in 32 minutes.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
- Five Longwood players were named to the Big South Top Returners Watch List, the league announced on Aug. 5.
- On the watch list — which includes selections from each of the league's head coaches and returning all-conference honorees — were forwards Peyton Curney and Sam Fischer, midfielders Meghan Piazza and Coryn Silberstein and defender Berni Wayland.
- Four Lancers — Madison Fitzpatrick, Fischer, Silberstein and Wayland — were part of the Big South's Midseason Watch List, announced on Sept. 17
O CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS
ONE AND ONLY
- Now in his 33rd season with the Longwood women's soccer team, head coach Todd Dyer is the only the coach to lead the program since its inception in 1994.
- Dyer, a 1993 Longwood graduate, has a 303-229-64 (.562) overall record, including a 143-56-30 (.690) mark in conference.
- Dyer also coached the Longwood men's soccer team for seven seasons from 1996-02, going 75-53-7 (.581) overall.
NEXT UP
- The Lancers head to Winthrop Wednesday at 6 p.m., on ESPN+.
- Longwood leads the all-time series with the Eagles, 9-2-3, since 2012.
