GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's soccer team hits the road again this week for another Friday night non-conference clash against Davidson College at Alumni Soccer Stadium at 7:00 p.m. in Davidson, North Carolina.

UNCG is off to a 2-1-0 start and coming off its first loss on the road last Friday against then-No. 16 Georgetown, 1-0. The Spartans began the season prevailing 3-0 over USC Upstate on Aug. 22 and 1-0 against Coastal Carolina on Aug. 25 at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.

The Spartans received votes in this week's edition of the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Last week saw UNCG break into the poll at No. 18, marking its first time appearing inside the top 25 since the 2023 preseason release.
 

 
THE SPARTANS LAST TIME OUT

• For the first time this season, the Spartans were shutout and surrendered their first goal when they took on the then-No. 16 rated Georgetown Hoyas for a 1-0 loss in their first road test of the new season.
• Redshirt sophomore Seth Wilson, who was coming off The Southern Conference (SoCon) Defensive Player of the Week honor, shined again while making five saves in the match.
• Freshman Mohammed Sumaila, sophomore Enzo Dovlo, junior Konstantinos Georgallides and junior Sami Lachekar each fired one shot for the Spartans last Friday at Georgetown.
• Wilson, Axel Alejandre, Jack Birch, Daniel Longo and Emmanuel Hagan played the entire 90 minutes at Georgetown. Among them, Wilson, Alejandre, Birch and Hagan have yet to miss any time in each of the Spartans' first three matches.

UNCG QUICK KICKS

• UNCG received votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches Poll after appearing at No. 18 a week ago, marking the team's first time in the poll since the 2023 preseason.
• Among national statistical categories, UNCG is leading Division I in corner kicks per game (9.33). Additionally, the Spartans stand within the top 20 of the country as a team when it comes to team goals against average (10th/.333), save percentage (11th/.909), and shutout percentage (13th/.667).
• Throughout the SoCon, UNCG is ranked first in goal differential (3), save percentage and team goals against average.
• Dovlo leads the Spartans with three goals in three matches. He scored first again for Spartans in the fourth minute of UNCG's 1-0 victory over Coastal Carolina on Aug. 25. The Strasbourg, France, native earned SoCon Offensive Player of the Week after also scoring twice in the Aug. 22 opener against USC Upstate for a total of three goals on three shots in just two games to begin the season.
• In goal, Wilson has made 10 saves in three starts for the Spartans. He earned back-to-back clean sheets to open the season, marking the third and fourth of his career and first two at UNCG.
• Fifth year forward Mikey Ketteman scored his first goal as a Spartan late in the season opener before assisting Dovlo on the break in the second game. He ranks second on the Spartans with three points thanks to the goal and assist.
• Junior forward Colton Sessoms and freshman defender Mohammed Sumaila each have one point for UNCG after assisting on goals back in the season opener.
• UNCG has totaled 28 corners in just three matches, including 13 in the season opener against USC Upstate, marking the most corner kicks for the Blue & Gold in a single match since Nov. 7, 2021, when UNCG had 20. The Spartans lead the country in corner kicks per game (9.33).
• UNCG was selected to finish third in the 2024 SoCon Preseason Poll following voting completed by the league's six head coaches. UNCG received one first-place vote. Senior Basile Marc and sophomore Arnaud Tattevin were named to the 11-member All-SoCon preseason team on Aug. 13.
• Head Coach Chris Rich is in his sixth season at the helm of UNCG's men's soccer program. He has guided the Spartans to a 48-29-15 (18-5-5 SoCon) record since 2019 and totaled nine or more victories in four of his first five seasons.
• Under Coach Rich, UNCG has won three SoCon Regular Season titles, won the SoCon Tournament twice and made a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances since 2019.
• The Spartans' roster has 15 returners this season, which includes six student-athletes who saw action in each of the team's 17 matches a season ago; Hagan and Marc, who started in all 17 competitions, as well as Sessoms, Birch, Yoshiya Okawa and Donovan Roux.
• The Spartans' roster also consists of 13 newcomers for a total of 28 players on the roster.
• UNCG's recruiting class was ranked No. 44 in the country by TopDrawerSoccer on Aug. 21 and includes seven transfers and seven incoming freshmen.
• The new class positionally features a total of four defenders, three goalkeepers, two forwards, two midfielders, one midfielder/forward and one midfielder/defender.
• In total, the Spartans roster consists of nine forwards, seven midfielders, seven defenders, three goalkeepers and a pair of midfielder/defenders.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

• Davidson is off to an 0-1-2 start after falling at Charlotte, 3-0, in the season opener and drawing at High Point, 1-1, and hosting Campbell, 0-0.
• Senior defender Eamon Moylan has the lone goal scored for the Wildcats. He also is pacing the team with four shots on the season.
• Junior Denis Krioutchenkov and freshman Brady McGlone assisted on Moylan's lone marker in the second game of the season.
• Sophomore Lucas Beltran and junior Jack Burden have switched off in goal for the Wildcats. Beltran saw action in Davidson's first and last contests, allowing three tallies in 180 minutes with one clean sheet last time out, while Burden played the entirety of the match at High Point, where he allowed one goal.
• Davidson was voted to finish seventh in the Atlantic 10 (A10) Preseason Poll after finishing 10-5-1 overall and 5-4-0 in the A10 a campaign ago.
• Krioutchenkov was named a member of the A10's 11-man preseason all-conference team prior to the season.

THE SERIES HISTORY
UNCG owns a 15-9-3 record advantage over Davidson in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1988 season.

During last season's meeting in Greensboro on Sept. 13, the Wildcats prevailed 1-0 at the UNCG Soccer Stadium. The Spartans have not beaten Davidson since the 2013 season when UNCG won 2-1 at home.

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UP NEXT
The Spartans return home next week for a pair of matches at 7:00 p.m. against Longwood on Tuesday, Sept. 10 and Charlotte on Friday, Sept. 13 at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.

All regular season home games are free admission. Tuesday's game will feature a buy one, get one FREE hot dogs promotion. Friday's match will be First Responders Night with a food truck in attendance.