SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Longwood men's soccer team is back on the road Saturday at USC Upstate needing a victory to keep its chance for a Big South tournament spot alive.
The Lancers have to win their final two matches at the Spartans Saturday and at home against Presbyterian Oct. 31 and receive help from others around the league to qualify for the six-team postseason.
LAST TIME OUT
- Longwood grabbed two leads Tuesday at Navy before settling for a 2-2 draw at Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
- The Lancers scored first in the 28th minute when Syrus Conolly tallied his third of the season, finishing a Jesus Macaya cross at the near post.
- Ezrah Serralde got the second-half equalizer in the 59th minute, wiring a shot to the top corner from just outside the box.
- Max Hinke made five saves for the Lancers.
- Longwood held 53 percent of possession for the match.
ALL-TIME SERIES
- USC Upstate leads the all-time series with Longwood, 5-1-3, since it began the 1988 season.
- The Longwood win came last year, 8-2, on Sept. 27 in Farmville.
- Simao Coelho posted four goals in that match, tying for the second most in a single game in program history with five others.
- Brando Bedolla had two goals and Ezrah Serralde tallied two assists.
- The eight goals that night are tied for seventh most in school history in a single match.
BEDOLLA NAMED BIG SOUTH CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Brando Bedolla was named Big South Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Monday following his two-goal performance in Longwood's 2-2 draw against Winthrop on Friday.
- The weekly honor is the second of Bedolla's career as he was named Big South Co-Freshman of the Week on Sept. 30, 2024.
- Bedolla's two tallies came just 39 seconds apart.
- The NCAA Division I men's soccer record for fastest two goals by the same player is eight seconds by Robby Christner of Oregon State versus Howard on Sept. 5, 2008.
SCOUTING USC UPSTATE
- USC Upstate enters the match Saturday 4-10-1 overall and 2-3-0 in the Big South, currently sitting fifth in the standings with six points.
- The Spartans have lost their last six matches by a combined 17-5 margin.
- On Tuesday at Campbell, the Camels received a goal five minutes in and two in the second half for the win. Oskar Kaufmann scored in the 19th minute and Caedon Reynolds in the 79th for Upstate.
- Kaufmann leads the team with six goals and 13 points, while Vitalis Takawira Jr., is tops on the squad with five assists.
- Jarrett Wuerslin has made in 14 starts in goal and has a 2.00 goals-against average and .675 save percentage with two clean sheets. He's made 56 saves on the year.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, RPI THINGS
- Longwood has played the 76th most difficult schedule in Division I men's soccer as of Oct. 20 and is 183rd in the RPI.
- The Lancers are 1-4-0 against teams inside the top 100 of the RPI, earning a 1-0 victory at home over Elon on Sept. 23, which was receiving votes in the national polls at the time. Elon is currently 80th in the RPI.
- Longwood also drew, 2-2, at Campbell on Sept. 16. The Fighting Camels are now 122nd in the RPI, but were inside the top 100 at the time of that match.
PLAYING THE BEST
- The Lancers have played two teams ranked in the United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll this season.
- In addition to West Virginia, which was No. 15 at the time of the match, Longwood also played then-No. 9 High Point.
FIVE NAMED TO BIG SOUTH MIDSEASON WATCHLIST
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 closes the regular season Oct. 31 at home against Presbyterian at 7 p.m., honoring 14 seniors on senior day.
- Presbyterian leads the all-time series, 9-6-1, but Longwood has won the last two matches.
