LEXINGTON, Va. – The Longwood women's soccer team is back in action at VMI on Thursday, shooting for its second consecutive win. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m., at Patchin Field and will be streamed on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Lancers earned their first victory of the season, 3-0, on Sunday at American, scoring once in the first half and two goals 1:52 apart after halftime.
- Peyton Curney opened the scoring in the 30th minute, converting a pass from McKenna Vogel to give Longwood a 1-0 lead. The senior drove her ninth career goal into the top-right corner of the net for the advantage.
- Longwood added to its lead early in the second half. Vogel scored her first collegiate goal in the 60th minute to make it 2-0. On the play, American goalkeeper Riley Molbury palmed a long ball from Sarah Olson off the crossbar, which fell to Vogel, who powered it over the line.
- Less than two minutes later, Madison Fitzpatrick nodded home a corner kick by Summer Toone for the final margin. The goal was the Nokesville, Va., product's seventh career tally.
- Longwood outshot the Eagles, 21-2, and holding a 9-4 advantage in corner kicks.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST VMI
- The Lancers are unbeaten against the Keydets in 15 all-time matches, going 14-0-1 since the series began in 2003.
- Longwood has scored 48 goals against VMI, averaging 3.2 per match.
- The Lancers are 6-0-1 in Lexington.
- Longwood won last season's meeting in Farmville on Aug. 20, 5-3, scoring three times in an 11-minute span in the middle of the first half take a commanding lead.
- Sam Fischer scored two goals and added an assist to lead the offense.
SCOUTING VMI
- The Keydets have started the season 0-3-0 after losses at George Mason, Virginia Tech and Winthrop while being outscored, 11-1.
- VMI's Jaleesa Eichel put her her up, 1-0, in the 22nd minute of the season opener against the Patriots on Aug. 13, with goalkeeper Maren Ryberg with an assist, before Mason tallied four goals in 18 minutes.
- Ryberg has started all three matches in goal and has a 3.57 goals-against average and .688 save percentage. She's made 22 total saves.
- VMI was picked to finish last in the 11-team Southern Conference with just 10 points in the coaches poll.
BERNICE!
- Junior Berni Wayland was named Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.
- A 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 Sunday.
- 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 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.
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.
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 301-226-62 (.564) overall record, including a 143-55-30 (.693) 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 return home to host ETSU at the Longwood Athletics Complex on Sunday at 4 p.m., on ESPN+.
- The Buccaneers hold a 2-1-0 edge in the all-time series, which began in 2011.
