GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's soccer team welcomes the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Buccaneers for The Southern Conference (SoCon) action to conclude the regular season on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at UNCG Soccer Stadium.

UNCG can win a share of the SoCon Regular Season Championship on Saturday and earn the top seed for the SoCon Tournament. With a win over the Buccaneers, the Spartans would move into a tie for first and have the advantage in the head-to-head record, which is the tiebreaker for seeding.
 

THE SPARTANS LAST TIME OUT

• UNCG won 1-0 on the road at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) last Saturday.
• Senior midfielder Yoshiya Okawa netted the only goal for UNCG when he scored on a free kick in the 30th minute after redshirt junior Steven Hernandez drew the foul near the top of the 18-yard box at Patchin Field.
• Okawa and sophomore forward Arnaud Tattevin paced the team with four shots each.
• Junior Tim Baerwalde made two saves for his second clean sheet of the season.
• Baerwalde, Axel Alejandre, Daniel Longo and Emmanuel Hagan each played the full 90 minutes.
• UNCG led VMI in corner kicks, 4-2, shots, 14-5, and shots on goal, 3-2.

UNCG QUICK KICKS

• UNCG is 9-2-4 overall and 2-1-1 in the SoCon, which includes a 7-0-1 mark at home and 2-2-3 record on the road.
• Among national statistical categories, the Spartans stand within the top 30 of the country as a team when it comes to shutout percentage (16th/.467), team goals against average (17th/.800), won-loss-tied percentage (17th/.733), save percentage (18th/.793) and goal differential (23rd/15).
• Throughout the SoCon, UNCG is ranked first in goal differential, save percentage, scoring offense (1.80), total goals (27), total points (74) and won-loss-tied percentage.
• Fifth year defender Emmanuel Hagan earned SoCon Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Spartans earn a 3-1 win over UNC Wilmington as well as their seventh shutout of the season last Saturday, 1-0 at VMI. He played all 90 minutes of the match for the 12th time in 15 games this season.
• Okawa leads the conference with seven goals and 17 points. He has scored five times in the last six games and was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week back on Oct. 15.
• Tattevin ranks second on the team with six goals and 14 points. He was named the SoCon Offensive Play of the Week on Oct. 22 after scoring three times and providing one assist in the prior week. Tattevin led UNCG a season ago with seven goals for 14 points.
• Baerwalde was named SoCon Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 15 after he made three saves for a clean sheet in his Spartan debut on Oct. 12 against Furman. He posted his second shutout of the season on Saturday at VMI, marking the fifth of his college career.
• Baerwalde and Seth Wilson have combined for seven shutouts this season. Wilson ranks 33rd in the country with five on the campaign. He was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 27 and Sept. 17.
• Sophomore forward Enzo Dovlo is third on the team with four goals and 11 points.
• Freshman Issah Haruna was ranked No. 96 in TopDrawerSoccer's Midseason Freshman Top 100 two weeks ago before earning an honorable mention on the oganization's team of the week on Oct. 22. He is fourth on the squad with eight points (3g, 2a).
• The Spartans received votes again in this week's edition of the United Soccer Coaches Poll. It marked UNCG's fifth time in the poll this season.
• UNCG faced three top-25 programs in its first seven games.
• The Spartans faced No. 16 Georgetown on the road and fell 1-0 on Aug. 30 before drawing, 0-0, at home against No. 19 Charlotte on Sept. 13 and tying No. 5 West Virginia on the road, 2-2, on Sept. 17.
• 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 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 55-30-19 (20-6-6 SoCon) record since 2019 and has now totaled nine or more victories in five of his first six seasons with last Saturday's win at VMI.
• 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 and 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.

SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS

• ETSU is 5-5-4 overall and owns the top spot in the SoCon standings with a 3-0-1 mark in conference games.
• The Buccaneers are coming off a 1-1 draw against Furman at home last Saturday. Prior to that, ETSU snuck past Mercer with a 1-0 victory on the road.
• ETSU is led offensively by forward Gabriel Ramos, who has five goals and six assists for 16 points.
• Senior Marc Kouadio has started all 14 matches in goal for ETSU and owns a 1.25 goals against average, an .809 save percentage and three shutouts.
• ETSU was voted to finish fifth in the SoCon Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Ramos was one of four forwards named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.

THE SERIES HISTORY
The Spartans are 7-8-6 in the all-time series against the Buccaneers. UNCG fell 6-0 in last season's meeting between the two teams in Johnson City, Tennessee.

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UP NEXT
The Spartans will learn their seed for the 2024 SoCon Tournament following the conclusion of all regular season games around the league on Saturday night.

The tournament is set to begin with the quarterfinals next Friday. The semifinals will follow on Nov. 10 prior to the championship on Nov. 16. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be hosted by the first and second-seeded teams.