FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood women's soccer team begins a five-match homestand, hosting Hampton on Sunday at the Longwood Athletics Complex. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m., and will be streamed on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT

• Madie Wessel made six saves to record her first career shutout as Longwood women's soccer team and Richmond played to a 0-0 draw at President's Field at River Road on Thursday.
• Wessel, a junior, making her first career start, made five stops after halftime for the Lancers. She was particularly busy early in the second half, making three saves in a span of just 67 seconds to keep Richmond off the scoreboard.
• Wessel also made a key stop late in the match, thwarting a bid from Richmond forward Emma Newman in the 83rd minute to preserve the clean sheet.
• The Lancers finished with three shots on goal among their six total attempts. Richmond held an 8-6 advantage in shots and put six attempts on target, but Wessel and the Longwood defense kept the Spiders offense at bay.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST HAMPTON

• Longwood has not lost to the Pirates in four all-time meetings, going 4-0-0 since the series began in 2018.
• The Lancers have outscored Hampton, 13-1.
• Longwood claimed the last meeting between the two, 3-0, in Farmville, on Sept. 10, 2024, with all goals coming in the second half. Karleigh Minson (50th minute), Sydney Robertson (56th) and Peyton Curney (68th) scored for Longwood, while Sara Curtis made three saves for a clean sheet

SCOUTING THE PIRATES

• Hampton enters the match at 1-3-1 overall and is coming off of a 1-0 victory at Delaware State Thursday. 
• Nylah Jennings scored a 79th-minute winner and Jackie Jenkins came up with nine saves in goal as HU ran its unbeaten streak to four against the Hornets at 2-0-2.
• Hampton returns 14 players from last season under first-year head coach Sam Cain, who secured his first win for the Pirates against Delaware State.
• Through five matches, Jennings leads Hampton in assists with two and points with four, while Caitlyn Peace and Jayda Sutton have scored a goal apiece for the Pirates.

• With three clean sheets in six matches so far this season, Longwood is tied for the Big South lead with Presbyterian in shutout percentage at .500.
• Freshman Brynn Clagett blanked American, 3-0, and VMI, 1-0, in consecutive matches on the road on Aug. 23 and 27.
• Junior Madie Wessel followed with a six-save 0-0 shutout at Richmond on Sept. 3 in her first collegiate start and just second-ever appearance.

• 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 weeks 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 last 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 302-227-63 (.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 next host George Mason Thursday at 6 p.m., on ESPN+.
• Longwood is 1-0-1 all-time against the Patriots, including a 1-0 win in extra time on Sept. 20, 2008 at home.