RICHMOND, Va. – The Longwood women's soccer team hits the road again to take on Richmond at President's Field at River Road on Thursday at 5 p.m., on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT

• ETSU scored twice in the first half and held off a second-half rally from the Longwood women's soccer team for a 2-1 victory Sunday at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
• Reagan Fitzgerald put ETSU on the board in the 18th minute, scoring on a 40-yard strike with an assist from Abbey Hayberg. Jada Cooper doubled the Buccaneers' advantage less than six minutes later, converting a pass from Kassie Estep in the 23rd minute.
• Longwood answered early in the second half. Freshman Addie Russell scored in the 60th minute off an assist from Reese Coggeshall, cutting the deficit to 2-1. On the play, Coggeshall collected a bouncing ball after a collision in the midfield. She then found Russell on the edge of the area, who lofted a shot over the outstretched arms of ETSU goalkeeper Addison Yelton. It was Russell's first collegiate goal.
• ETSU finished with nine shots, including three on goal, while Longwood had seven shots and one shot on goal. The Buccaneers also held a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.
• Longwood goalkeeper Madie Wessel made one save in 45 minutes of second-half action after Brynn Clagett played the first half.

• Richmond has an 8-5-4 edge in the all-time series, which began in 2006.
• The teams drew, 1-1, in last season's meeting on Sept. 11 in Farmville. Megan Piazza scored a 34th-minute goal from Sam Fischer and Madison Fitzpatrick before the Spiders equalized in the 88th through Brooke Wilson.
• Longwood's last win in the series was 1-0 decision on Aug. 18, 2022 at home. Catharine Forst scored in the 67th minute and Mary Kate Levush made seven saves in goal for the clean sheet.

• Richmond has started the season 2-0-2 with victories over Wofford Aug. 16 and Queens Aug. 23, 1-0, and 3-0, respectively. The Spiders have drawn with American, 1-1, on Aug. 20 and 0-0 at Mount St. Mary's on Aug. 30.
• Sophomore defender Morgane Zinn leads Richmond in scoring with two goals and one assist for five points.
• Junior Veronica Rrapi has started in goal for the Spiders and has allowed just one of their two goals against on the year for a 0.50 goals-against average and .889 save percentage. She has eight total saves.
• Richmond was picked to finish 12th in the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference.

BERNICE!

• Junior Berni Wayland was named Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 24.
• The 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 Aug. 23. 
• 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. 
• Fischer saw her first action of 2026 in the ETSU match on Sunday, coming back from injury to provide a spark off the bench in 32 minutes.

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

• Head coach Todd Dyer named Peyton Curney, Coryn Silberstein, Meghan Piazza and Madison Fitzpatrick captains for the 2026 season.

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 302-227-62 (.563) 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 are back home Sunday at 5 p.m., hosting Hampton on ESPN+.
• Longwood has never lost in four all-time meetings since 2018, outscoring the Pirates, 13-1.