CONWAY, S.C. – The Longwood men's soccer team hits the road for the first time this season Monday, traveling to Coastal Carolina for a 7 p.m., kickoff on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT
- Longwood opened the season Thursday with a 1-1 draw against Mount Olive.
- Sophomore Brando Bedolla started the scoring in the 30th minute with a rocket into the upper right of the net from outside the box, assisted by junior Jesus Macaya.
- Mount Olive countered with a 67th-minute tally by Haytham Abraham to level the score.
- Phil Appelt blasted a shot of the crossbar with less than a minute remaining for the Lancers, but the teams settled for the draw.
- Longwood outshot the Trojans, 18-11, and had five corner kicks to Mount Olive's four on the night.
SERIES HISTORY
- Coastal Carolina holds a 5-1-0 lead in the all-time series with Longwood.
- The two last played Oct. 24, 2015 in Farmville when the then-No. 11 Chanticleers came away with a 2-1 Big South Conference decision in overtime.
- CCU has won the last five matches in the series.
- The Lancers' win came on Aug. 30, 2008 in the Coastal Carolina/Adidas Classic by a 2-1 count.
- Shane Johnson (header in 17th minute) and Harvey Headley (penalty in the 56th) had the goals for Longwood.
SCOUTING COASTAL CAROLINA
- Coastal Carolina blanked Winthrop, 3-0, in Rock Hill, S.C., to open the season.
- It was Coastal's first victory in its lid lifter since beating USC Upstate to start the 2022 campaign.
- Jaland Larmond (30th minute), Angel Lopez Martin (53rd) and Christian Cook (86th) tallied for the Chants.
- After 26 seasons at the helm of the program and 312 victories, head coach Shaun Docking announced his retirement Aug. 13.
- Under interim head coach Chris Fidler, who is in his third season on staff, Coastal was picked to finished last in the 10-team Sun Belt.
- Coastal is coming off of a 3-10-3 season in 2024, failing to qualify for the conference tournament.
A RESULT WOULD …
- With a win or draw on Monday, Longwood would remain unbeaten through its first two matches of the season for the first time since 2023.
- That year, the Lancers began the season blanking Hampden-Sydney, 3-0, on Aug. 25 before beating Mount St. Mary, 2-1, on Sept. 2 at home.
- The unbeaten streak continued by earning a 1-1 draw on the road at William & Mary on Sept. 5 and shutting out Navy, 2-0, in Annapolis, Md., on Sept. 8.
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.
NEXT UP
- Longwood is back home Friday at 7 p.m., to host ETSU on ESPN+.
- The Buccaneers claimed a 3-1 victory over Longwood in Johnson City, Tenn., to open the 2024 season.
