As the only head coach in the history of Longwood’s women’s soccer team, Todd Dyer has taken the Lancers from a budding Division II program to a Big South juggernaut.
Dyer was hired as women’s soccer head coach in 1994, shortly after he graduated from Longwood, where he played with the men’s program. Under his direction, the team would win 4-0 in their first game against Hollins College. Now in the midst of his 33rd season at the helm, a team photo from that game still hangs in Dyer’s office.
Community starts early for prospective players at Longwood. Recruits are encouraged to bond with the current players as soon as possible. “They have to come see it for themselves,” Dyer said. “When we do recruiting visits, the most time they spend with us is the time they spend with our current players.”
“They always ask, ‘How’s your team culture?’” To that, Dyer says he always tells them, “Don’t believe me, go see it and feel it for yourself.”
Team captain Meghan Piazza, a four-year stalwart in the midfield for Longwood, is not only an example of the culture, but she is prepared to pass it down to younger players. “Coach Dyer and Coach Stoneman stand out because they genuinely care about developing us not just as athletes, but as people,” Piazza said in a quote provided to the Rotunda. “Playing for them at Longwood is special because the culture is built on accountability, competitiveness and family.” Piazza scored five goals and registered one assist in the 2025 season while starting all 19 games.
Rich Stoneman, a longtime veteran assistant soccer coach at various DI institutions, has coached by Dyer’s side for the past decade. Stoneman is the longest-tenured assistant coach in Dyer’s history of running the program. “We’re like brothers. We’re always bouncing ideas off each other. We’re comfortable talking about anything, and we’re comfortable disagreeing,” Dyer said of his relationship with Stoneman. “If you’re always on the same page and agreeing on everything, then you’re probably not getting the most out of that relationship that you could.”
Stoneman previously coached at East Carolina, Coastal Carolina and Baylor before joining the Longwood coaching staff. Upon seeing Longwood’s culture for himself, he invested himself in the team that now attracts quality players from across the country. “I’m lucky that I have a great boss and great kids that play for us,” Stoneman said. “It’s always easier to work with someone you trust, you love, and love being around in the office every day. That’s the easy part.”
“To be honest, I thought I would be here for three or four years, but I think that Longwood has something so special to offer, not just the women’s soccer program but the university as a whole,” Stoneman concluded.
Recently, Longwood women’s soccer has competed for the top of the Big South, with only two losing-record seasons in Big South play across 14 seasons. “More than anything, our department and university has given us the resources to recruit talented and high-level student athletes. It starts there. You have to have the talent to compete in our conference,” Dyer reflected. “It’s a battle every year, but we have managed to stay close to the top third [of the conference], and we hope to do that and more next year.”
Dyer is still as attached to Longwood as he was back in 1994. From their transitions to Division I and the Big South through the era of Name, Image and Likeness and the ever-present transfer portal, Dyer keeps himself busy. “It certainly hasn’t gotten boring,” Dyer explained. “It is still exciting, it’s still challenging, but I feel that since our [first win over Hollins College], it has been a constant growth and ascension.”
With a career that has seen over 300 wins at Longwood, along with multiple wins in the conference tournament, Dyer now focuses his efforts on the goal of winning the Big South title, something the school has not achieved since joining the conference in 2012. “Everything keeps getting better; we have not hit a ceiling yet,” Dyer said. “We have a talented bunch, a motivated bunch, and we’re good enough to win just about every year; it just hasn’t worked out for us yet.”
With his sights set on winning the championship, Dyer has no intent to leave Longwood anytime in the near future. “I’m biased. I love it here. I loved it as a student, I loved it as a coach, and I’ve never thought about leaving. They’ve allowed me to stay, and that’s the plan for the next five or 10 years.”
