2024 SoCon Women's Soccer Tournament Landing Page
 
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) women's soccer team continues its postseason quest as it travels to Birmingham, Alabama, for The Southern Conference (SoCon) Quarterfinal match on Friday, Nov. 1.
 
The seventh-seeded Spartans will face the second-seeded Samford Bulldogs at Shauna Yelton Field with a 5:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. CT start time.
 
The Spartans have a 5-8-5 overall record and a 3-3-3 conference mark. The Bulldogs concluded the regular season 9-6-3 overall and 6-1-2 in the league, earning the right to host one side of the bracket.
 

 
SERIES HISTORY
Samford leads the overall series 13-3-1. The Bulldogs took this year's regular season result, 2-1 and are on an eight-game unbeaten streak against UNCG. The Spartans last won in 2017, 2-1, in double overtime.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE SPARTANS
UNCG defeated The Citadel, 3-0, on Tuesday at the UNCG Soccer Stadium to move onto a SoCon Quarterfinal matchup. Taylor Mentzer scored twice, while Azumi Oka chipped in the third goal of the game. Bailey Gourdine and Bryanna Parkes tallied assists.
 
SPARTANS IN SOCON POSTSEASON

• The Spartans defeated No. 10 The Citadel on Tuesday, 3-0, for their sixth shutout of the season, to advance to the quarterfinal round.
• UNCG has won eight SoCon Championships since joining the league in 1997, with the last title coming in 2018.
• This will be the first time that the two teams have met in postseason action.

 
ABOUT THE SPARTANS

• Mentzer is pacing the team with five goals and 10 points.
• Merle Greulich is second on the team with nine points (4g, 1a).
• Ava Kiss and Morgan Brubaker have each scored three goals. Kiss is third on the team with eight points, adding two assists in her junior campaign.
• Five Spartans have two assists each.
• Fourteen Spartans have had one or more points this season.
• In net, Malone has started in 17 games and played in 16 giving up 19 goals for 1.09 goals against average.
• The Spartans have the edge over their opponents in shots, 212-174, while their foes have the advantage in corner kicks, 79-77.
• UNCG had 25 shots against the Keydets and it was the first game since Sept. 7, 2023, when the Spartans had 20 or more shots. The Spartans had 20 shots against Coastal Carolina that day and won 3-0.
• UNCG has lost six games by one goal this season, which included when then-ranked No. 22 Colorado defeated the Spartans, 1-0, in August.
• UNCG has six shutouts this season, which is the most since the 2022 season when the Spartans had eight.
• Among the SoCon, UNCG is second in goals against average (1.056), third in shutout percentage (.333) and fourth in save percentage (.753).
• Malone was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 1 for a 1-0 clean sheet against Chattanooga. This was her second career weekly award.
• She earned her first honor on Sept. 3. This was the Spartans' first SoCon Player of the Week since Oct. 28, 2022, when Nadia Wilson earned the award and first SoCon Defensive Player of the Week since Sept. 27, 2022, when Abby Buchholz earned the recognition.
• Head Coach Stefani Workman is in her first year at the helm of the Spartans and eighth year overall with the Blue & Gold.
• The Spartans were voted to finish seventh in the 2024 SoCon Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• The Spartans added six freshmen and one graduate transfer to the 2024 roster.

 
SCOUTING SAMFORD

• Samford was voted to finish second in the 2024 SoCon Preseason Coaches' Poll and the Bulldogs also took two of the 10 first-place votes.
• Whitaker Buchanan and Ella Simpson were selected to the Preseason All-Conference team.
• The Bulldogs are on an eight-game unbeaten streak since Sept. 22.
• Layton Glisson is leading the team with 15 points (6g, 3a).
• Buchanan is second with 14 points (3g, 8a). She is 20^th nationally with her eight assists.
• Peyton Hull has started in net in 10 games and played in 17 this season. She has given up 22 goals and has 1.66 goals against average with 52 saves.
• Among the SoCon, Samford is third in 10 categories, including assists per game (1.44), points per game (5.11), scoring offense (1.83), shot accuracy (.477), shots per game (13.39), shots on goal per game (6.39), total assists (26), total goals (33), total points (92) and won-lost-tied percentage (.583).
• Nationally, the Bulldogs are 60^th in total goals, 69^th in total points and 70^th in scoring offense.

 
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UP NEXT
The winner of this matchup will take on the winner of No. 3 Furman/No. 6 ETSU in a SoCon Semifinal game, which will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, at Shauna Yelton Field on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT.