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

THE SPARTANS LAST TIME OUT

• The Spartans opened their Southern Conference (SoCon) slate at Mercer last Saturday night.
• The match ended in a 1-1 draw after Mercer scored in the 22nd minute and UNCG found the equalizer in the 83rd minute.
• Senior midfielder Jack Birch buried the game-tying goal for the Spartans.
• Redshirt sophomore Seth Wilson turned away four shots after making his ninth consecutive start. He has yet to miss any action.
• Wilson, Birch, Axel Alejandre and Daniel Longo played all 90 minutes for UNCG.
• Mercer finished with the advantage in corner kicks, 6-2, shots, 10-6, and shots on goal, 5-4.

UNCG QUICK KICKS

• UNCG is 4-1-4 overall and now 0-0-1 in the SoCon.
• The Spartans began the season facing three top-25 programs in their 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 moved up one spot to No. 21 in last week's TopDrawerSoccer Men's College Soccer National Rankings.
• The Spartans have appeared in the United Soccer Coaches Poll twice this season. UNCG broke into the first poll of the regular season on Aug. 27 at No. 18 before receiving votes the following week.
• Among national statistical categories, the Spartans stand within the top 20 of the country as a team when it comes to save percentage (13th/.811) and team goals against average (20th/.778).
• Throughout the SoCon, UNCG is ranked first in corner kicks per game (5.44), goal differential (6), save percentage, scoring offense (1.44), team goals against average and won-loss-tied percentage (.667).
• Wilson ranks 25th in the country with four shutouts this season. He recently earned back-to-back shutouts on Sept. 10 vs. Longwood and Sept. 13 hosting then-No. 19 Charlotte. He also accomplished the feat to open the season. As a result, Wilson was named SoCon Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 27 and Sept. 17.
• Dovlo leads the Spartans and is tied with Mercer's Sekou Agard for the SoCon's top spot in goals scored (4). He leads the Spartans with nine points.
• Okawa leads the Spartans with three assists this season and is now second on the team with seven points after scoring in the last match. He has recorded all seven points in the last six matches.
• Ketteman ranks third on the Spartans with five points via two goals and an assist. He scored his second goal of the season on Sept. 17 at then-No. 5 West Virginia, which forced a 2-2 draw.
• Birch is now fourth on the Spartans with four points after scoring his second goal of the season last time out.
• Tattevin is fifth on the team with three points. He led UNCG a season ago with seven goals for 14 points.
• 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 50-29-19 (18-5-6 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 HIGHLANDERS

• Radford is in search of its first win with a 0-10-1 overall record and 0-3 mark in the Big South.
• The Highlanders are coming off a 3-2 loss to Presbyterian at home on Saturday. Prior to that, Radford settled for a 1-1 draw while hosting VMI.
• Joep de Bruin leads the Highlanders in points (4) and goals (2) this season. He scored on a penalty kick for Radford on Saturday.
• Three of the Highlanders' four goalkeepers have seen action this season. Senior Alex Eydelman has played the most, making nine of the 11 starts. He owns a 2.17 goals against average and .694 save percentage in 787:23 of action.
• The Highlanders rank 15th in the country and lead the Big South in terms of saves per game. (5.00).
• Radford was voted to finish last among eight teams in the 2024 Big South Preseason Coaches' Poll.

THE SERIES HISTORY
UNCG is 8-2-1 in the all-time series against Radford. The Spartans thumped the Highlanders 5-0 in the last meeting on Sept. 18, 2021, at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.

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UP NEXT
The Spartans continue a three-game home stretch with the second game, hosting Furman on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.

All regular season home games are FREE admission. Saturday's match will be Camper Reunion and Alumni Night. Additionally, there will be a food truck in attendance.