The Longwood Lancers men’s soccer team saw its 2025 season come to a disappointing end, falling just short of the Big South tournament despite high preseason expectations. Ranked third in the Big South’s preseason poll, Longwood finished tied for sixth out of eight teams. The team ended the season 3–8–5 overall and 1–4–2 in conference play.
Although the Lancers picked up some solid results early in the season and during non-conference play, that success didn’t carry over once Big South action began. They opened conference play by dropping their first four games, failing to score a single goal while giving up 11.
Longwood suffered a deflating 3–0 loss away to Radford to open Big South play. Attention quickly shifted to the next match against undefeated non-conference opponent Elon at home in Farmville. They fed off the home crowd’s energy and took the lead on a short-range finish from sophomore forward Brando Bedolla, his third goal of the season.
In the feisty contest with the Phoenix, Bedolla was sent off with about 20 minutes remaining. The Lancers dug in defensively, with David Ambaek, Kunandy Outtara and Joshua Yoder all playing key roles in preserving the narrow 1–0 victory — a potential turning point in a difficult stretch. “Last game was a bad result for us, so we worked on playing hard and playing the soccer that we [know we can] play,” said goalkeeper Youssou Ouendeno, who earned player of the match honors. “After the Radford game, we were pretty upset about the mistakes we made. Whether it [was] the lack of effort or not being in the right place,” Yoder added. “Tonight we focused on those things…and we were in the right places to make the [right] plays.”
The Lancers were in need of momentum, especially with their next game at home against then-top-10 nationally ranked High Point.
While Longwood fought bravely early, High Point’s nationally recognized quality proved too much, and they defeated the Lancers 3–0. “I think we can learn from this experience, but I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be positive,” Gilbert said. “We just have to go watch some film and figure out how to get better.”
The next stretch didn’t get any easier. Longwood dropped another conference game to then-nationally ranked Gardner-Webb 2–0, and then lost by three goals away to Virginia Tech on October 7.
On October 12, Longwood couldn’t take advantage of returning home, losing 3–0 to UNC Asheville. After the impressive win over Elon, they had now lost four straight games — conceding 11 goals without scoring once. “The message now is that everything we need to do has to be together, as a team, and not as individuals,” Gilbert said.
The breakthrough finally arrived with a 2–2 comeback draw against Winthrop on October 17. Bedolla snapped the goal drought by scoring both Lancer goals. “[We] showed our togetherness,” Bedolla said, “which there has been a lack of this season.”
The Lancers needed a win in their final game against Presbyterian — plus help elsewhere — to keep postseason hopes alive. Longwood did its part, prevailing in a 5–3 barnburner on Senior Day at the Longwood Athletics Complex. However, with Radford drawing against USC Upstate, Radford claimed the sixth and final spot in the Big South tournament.
“For us, it’s bittersweet because of how well we played tonight. I’ve seen that all year in training, and the metrics indicate that we should have way more than three wins. Finally, tonight, you saw it all come together,” Gilbert told Director of Athletics Communications Sam Hovan in a post-game interview.
Longwood’s 20 total goals were the program’s lowest season mark since 2023 (18), but Bedolla finished third in the conference in scoring and earned a spot on the All-Big South Second Team alongside Aaron Asamoah. Freshman Benjamin Ferrero made the Big South All-Freshman Team, with Ferrero and Yoder also named honorable mentions.
