GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's soccer team returns home to host the Longwood Lancers on Tuesday in a non-conference test at 7:00 p.m. at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.

UNCG is 2-1-1 after scoring twice in the second half of last Friday's match at Davidson to force a 2-2 draw against the Wildcats. Prior to that, the Spartans were handed their first loss on the road on Aug. 30 at then-No. 16 Georgetown, 1-0. UNCG began the season prevailing 3-0 over USC Upstate on Aug. 22 and 1-0 against Coastal Carolina on Aug. 25 at home.
 

 
THE SPARTANS LAST TIME OUT

• After trailing 2-0 to Davidson at the half on the road, the Spartans scored a pair of goals five minutes apart in the 65th and 70th minutes for an eventual 2-2 draw on Friday night. Assited by senior Yoshiya Okawa and sophomore Arnaud Tattevin, freshman Issah Haruna scored first to cut the deficit in half before Okawa forced a turnover and scored the game-tying goal.
• Redshirt sophomore Seth Wilson made three saves in goal for UNCG.
• Konstantinos Georgallides, Haruna and Okawa led the Spartans with a pair of shots.
• Wilson, Axel Alejandre, Mohammed Sumaila, Jack Birch and Emmanuel Hagan each played in the entirety of the match for UNCG.

 
UNCG QUICK KICKS

• The Spartans received votes in last week's edition of the United Soccer Coaches Poll. UNCG broke into the first poll of the regular season two weeks ago at No. 18, marking its first time appearing inside the top 25 since the 2023 preseason release.
• Among national statistical categories, UNCG is second in Division I for corner kicks per game (8.00). Additionally, the Spartans stand within the top 30 of the country as a team when it comes to shutout percentage (23rd/.500), team goals against average (27th/.750), save percentage (11th/.909), and shutout percentage (13th/.667).
• Throughout The Southern Conference (SoCon), UNCG is ranked first in corner kicks per game and tied for first in goal differential (3).
• Dovlo leads the Spartans with three goals in four matches for six points. 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 (Aug. 27) 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 13 saves in four 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. As a result, he earned the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week honor on Aug. 27. He ranks tied for 10th in the country with two shutouts.
• Okawa climbed into a tie for second on the Spartans with three points after shining in last Friday's match at Davidson, where he posted a goal and an assist.
• 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 tied for second on the team with three points thanks to the goal and assist.
• Junior forward Colton Sessoms, Sumaila and Tattevin each have one point for UNCG after assisting on one of UNCG's six goals so far this season.
• UNCG has totaled 32 corners in just four 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.
• 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 48-29-16 (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, 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 LANCERS

• Longwood owns a 1-2-1 record to start the season and is coming off a 2-1 win at home over Navy on Saturday.
• Senior midfielder Ethan Stevenson leads the way for the Lancers with five points by way of two goals and an assist in four matches so far this season. He scored the Lancers' first goal before assisting on the second in the 2-1 win over Navy on Saturday.
• Junior Max Hinke has started as Longwood's goalkeeper in all four matches so far this season. He owns a 2.00 goals against average and .619 save percentage.
• After finishing last season 6-6-3 overall and 1-5-1 in the Big South for eighth in the league, Longwood was voted to finish in a tie for fifth in the conference this season.

THE SERIES HISTORY
The Spartans are 12-1-2 in the all-time series against the Lancers, which dates back to the 1977 season.

UNCG has prevailed in six of the last seven meetings with one draw in the mix back in 2014. The last time the two teams met, the Spartans came out on top, 3-1, over the Lancers in Farmville, Virginia.

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UP NEXT
The Spartans are back at home to face Charlotte in another non-conference test on Friday, Sept. 13 at 7:00 p.m. at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.

All regular season home games are free admission. Friday's match will be First Responders Night with a food truck in attendance.