GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's soccer team resumes its non-conference slate hosting No. 19 Charlotte on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.

UNCG is 3-1-1 after earning a 2-0 win over Longwood on Tuesday at home. Prior to that, the Spartans scored twice in the second half of last Friday's match at Davidson to force a 2-2 draw against the Wildcats. UNCG was handed its first loss on the road on Aug. 30 at then-No. 16 Georgetown, 1-0.
 

 
THE SPARTANS LAST TIME OUT

• The Spartans shut out the Longwood Lancers on Tuesday night at the UNCG Soccer Stadium, 2-0, to improve to 3-1-1.
• Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Seth Wilson made his fifth consecutive start and stopped three shots on the way to his third clean sheet of the season.
• Senior midfielder Jack Birch and sophomore forward Enzo Dovlo scored the first and second goals for UNCG, respectively.
• Junior Konstantinos Georgallides and senior Yoshiya Okawa earned assists in the match.
• The Spartans dominated the Lancers in corner kicks, 8-1.

UNCG QUICK KICKS

• The Spartans have appeared in the United Soccer Coaches Poll twice this season. UNCG broke into the first poll of the regular season three weeks ago at No. 18 before receiving votes in last week's poll.
• Among national statistical categories, UNCG is second in Division I for corner kicks per game (8.00). Additionally, the Spartans stand within the top 20 of the country as a team when it comes to shutout percentage (8th/.600), team goals against average (14th/.600) and save percentage (20th/.842).
• Throughout The Southern Conference (SoCon), UNCG is ranked first in corner kicks per game, goal differential (5), scoring offense (1.60), total goals scored (8) and won-lost-tied percentage (.700).
• Dovlo leads the Spartans and is tied with Mercer's Sekou Agard for the SoCon's top spot in goals scored with four so far in five matches. He scored again last time out for UNCG in the 28th minute to make it 2-0.
• Okawa leads the Spartans with a pair of assists this season and now has four points for second on the team after scoring on Sept. 6 at Davidson and recording an assist in each of the last two games.
• In goal, Wilson has made 16 saves in five starts for the Spartans. He earned his third clean sheet on Tuesday after earning back-to-back shutouts to open the season. Wilson earned the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week honor on Aug. 27. He ranks second in the country with three shutouts.
• Birch scored his first goal of the season in the eighth minute of the Spartans' 2-0 victory over Longwood.
• 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 third on the team with three points thanks to the goal and assist.
• Junior Colton Sessoms, freshman Mohammed Sumaila and sophomore Arnaud Tattevin each have one point for UNCG after assisting on one of UNCG's eight goals so far this season.
• UNCG has totaled 40 corners in just five 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 49-29-16 (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; Emmanuel 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 49ERS

• Charlotte is 3-0-1 to start the season and broke into this week's edition of the United Soccer Coaches Poll at No. 19.
• The 49ers are coming off a 3-2 win at Lipscomb on Sunday.
• Charlotte ranks within the top 30 of the country in won-lost-tied percentage (18th/.875), assists per game (21st/2.50), points per game (23rd/7.50), scoring offense (25th/2.50), shot accuracy (27th/.500) and shutout percentage (27th/.500).
• The 49ers were voted the favorite to finish in the top spot of the American Athletic Conference, collecting six first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll.
• Senior Ian Pilcher was named the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. He has one goal for the 49ers and has yet to miss any action.
• Pilcher and senior forward Brigham Larsen were named to the league's preseason all-conference team as unanimous selections. Larsen has a goal and an assist for a tie of third on the team with three points.
• Charlotte's Leo Stritter is tied for first in the American Athletic Confence with two shutouts.
• Senior forward Jauk Filip leads the 49ers with six points via a team-leading total of three goals.
• Freshman forward Jaedon Richardson is second on Charlotte with two goals and four points.
• The 49ers posted a 13-4-1 overall record last season with a 6-2 mark in conference games. Their season ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 3-0 loss to the then-No. 9 Clemson.

 
THE SERIES HISTORY
The all-time series between the Spartans and 49ers is even at 9-9-2. UNCG prevailed in the previous meeting, 2-1, on the road on Sept. 9, 2023.

Last season's match between the two saw the 49ers leading at half before the Spartans scored twice with goals in the 75th and 79th minutes to eventually prevail, 2-1. Sessoms provided an assist on the game-winner.

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UP NEXT
The Spartans travel to Morgantown, West Virginia, for a match against the nation's top team in the rankings, the West Virginia Mountaineers. The match kicks off on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.