FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood men's soccer team opens its 49th season on Thursday hosting NCAA Division II Mount Olive at Longwood Athletics Complex in a 7 p.m., kickoff on ESPN+.
LANCERS IN SEASON OPENERS
- Longwood is 19-23-6 in season openers since the inception of the program for the 1977 season.
- Since joining the Division I ranks, the Lancers are 4-14-3 in their first match of the season.
- Longwood last won its lid lifter on Aug. 23, 2023 against crosstown foe Hampden-Sydney, 3-0, at Longwood Athletics Complex.
SERIES HISTORY
- Longwood leads the all-time series with Mount Olive, 8-1-0, with all nine meetings coming when the sides were members of the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference.
- The Lancers have won the last four in the series, which dates to the 1995 season.
- Longwood won the last matchup between the two on Sept. 7, 2002, a 2-1 victory on the road in Mount Olive, N.C.
- Thursday's contest is a regular-season match for the Lancers and an exhibition for Mount Olive.
SCOUTING MOUNT OLIVE
- Mount Olive, under fourth-year head coach Ian Spooner, played to a 4-7-5 overall record, going 3-4-4 in Conference Carolinas in 2024.
- The Trojans fell to to Francis Marion in the quarterfinals of the league tournament, 1-0.
- UMO averaged 1.88 goals per game while surrendering 1.56 per outing.
- Sophomore Kevin Jimenez is Mount Olive's top returning scorer, potting three goals and one assist for seven points in 12 matches and 10 starts.
- He ranked in a tie for third on the team in goals and fourth in points.
FRESH FACES
- Longwood has added 14 newcomers in its 2025 recruiting class.
- Six players boast previous collegiate playing experience.
- Among the transfers are midfielder Phil Appelt (Dordt/Mid-America Christian), forward Syrus Conolly (Concord/Virginia Tech), goalkeeper Youssou Ouendeno (Western Illinois/Madonna), midfielder Kevin Peprah (Rider), forward João Ratinho (Huntington/Oklahoma Christian) and goalkeeper Ezra Wallace (Green Bay).
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.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
SADULA ELEVATED
- Assistant coach Yuriy Sadula was promoted to associate head coach for the Lancers on Aug. 20.
- Sadula is beginning his seventh season on head coach Paul Gilbert's staff between Lubbock Christian, Indiana Tech and at Longwood.
- He played for Gilbert for three seasons at Lubbock Christian graduating in 2018 as the program's all-time leader in matches (66) and minutes played (5,807).
O CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS
- Head coach Paul Gilbert named seniors David Ambaek and Aaron Asamoah team captains for the 2025 season.
- Both players suited up for Gilbert and associate head coach Yuriy Sadula at Indiana Tech in 2022-23 and followed the staff to Farmville.
- Asamoah earned Big South First Team and Big South All-Tournament Team honors a year ago.
- Ambaek started all 13 matches in which he appeared, helping to anchor a backline that surrendered less than two-and-a-half goals per game.
NEXT UP
- Longwood is back in action on Monday when it travels to Conway, S.C., to take on former Big South rival Coastal Carolina at 6 p.m., on ESPN+.
- The Chanticleers hold a 5-1-0 lead in the all-time series with the Lancers' win coming on Aug. 30, 2008 by a 2-1 count on the road.
