RADFORD, Va. — The Longwood men's soccer team is set to open Big South Conference play at Radford Saturday at 2 p.m., on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT
- Longwood earned a 2-2 draw on the road at Campbell on Tuesday.
- The Lancers scored first just 13 minutes into the match on Benjamin Ferrero's first collegiate goal, assisted by Christer Salvesen.
- The Camels then rallied for a pair of goals just 1:45 apart on either side of halftime to take a 2-1 advantage.
- Sophomore defender Joaquin Sonez scored his first college goal in the 70th minute from Syrus Conolly and Paul Espinoza to pull even.
SERIES HISTORY
- Radford holds a 16-9-3 overall edge in the all-time series since it began in the 1978 season.
- The Highlanders are 9-3-2 against Longwood at home and 8-2-2 in Big South action.
- The teams drew, 2-2, on Nov. 2 to close the regular season in Farmville last year.
- Simao Coelho's 72nd-minute equalizer ensured the Lancers' first Big South tournament berth since 2021.
LANCERS IN BIG SOUTH OPENERS
- Longwood is 4-8-1 all-time in the first match of the Big South Conference slate since joining the league for the 2012 season.
- A win at Radford would give Longwood its second consecutive victory to begin conference play under head coach Paul Gilbert.
- The Lancers topped Presbyterian, 3-1, on the road on Sept. 22 last season on the strength of an Ethan Stevenson hat trick in final 14 minutes of the match.
- Longwood's other victories to start Big South play came at Campbell, 2-1, on Sept. 27, 2015 and twice against UNC Asheville in 2018 and 2021.
SCOUTING RADFORD
- Radford comes into play at 1-3-2 on the season with its only win, a 3-0 victory over Howard, coming Sept. 6 at home.
- The Highlanders and Lancers have two common opponents to this point in the season. Radford drew with both Liberty (1-1, Aug. 28) and ETSU (2-2, Sept. 10).
- Radford last played Sept. 13, dropping a 1-0 decision at Queens on a 59th-minute goal from Otto Gustafsson.
- Radford goalkeeper Ben Miller made three saves in the loss.
- Hiromasa Iwai, Kenshin Akimoto and Carter McClain are all tied for the team lead with two goals apiece. Iwai, Dax Booth and Anton Jerga lead Radford in assists with two.
- Miller and played every minute thus far in goal for the Highlanders.
- He has a 2.00 goals-against average and .667 save percentage with 24 total saves and one clean sheet.
PLAYING THE BEST
- The Lancers have an opportunity to play at least four teams ranked in the Sept. 9 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.
FIVE NAMED TO BIG SOUTH MIDSEASON WATCHLIST
LANCERS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
- Longwood is currently 62nd in the NCAA in shots on goal per game (5.5), 63rd in assists per game (1.67) and 71st overall in total assists (10).
- Individually, Jose Coutinho is 20th in the country in shots per game (3.4).
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 returns home Tuesday to face Elon at 7 p.m., on ESPN+.
- The Phoenix hold a 5-3-1 lead in the all-time series, which began in 1991.
- The two teams have not met in men's soccer since a scoreless draw on Sept. 11, 2009 in Greensboro, N.C.
