GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's soccer team grinded its way to a 3-2 victory over the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Buccaneers on Saturday night at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
The win secured UNCG a share of The Southern Conference (SoCon) Regular Season Championship as well as the top seed for the SoCon Tournament. It marks the 10th SoCon Championship for UNCG men's soccer and the fourth in six seasons under the tutelage of Head Coach Chris Rich.
The Spartans also snapped ETSU's 10-game unbeaten streak against SoCon opponents with the victory on Saturday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Spartans struck first with Yoshiya Okawa scoring off assists by Enzo Dovlo and Sami Lachekar with 9:50 elapsed. Lachekar started the rush that led to the goal with a through pass to Dovlo up the left side, who later found Okawa inside the 18-yard box where he scored with his left foot. Despite trailing 2-1 in corners at the break, the Spartans found themselves leading in shots, 5-3, as well as in the score column, 1-0.
Both sides traded two goals in the second half. Arnaud Tattevin scored the first goal of the half to give UNCG a 2-0 lead in the 58th minute when he scored on his first touch off a pass from Steven Hernandez. ETSU's Gabriel Ramos then cut UNCG's lead to 2-1 in the 63rd minute after scoring on assist from Oliver Einarsson. Dovlo then scored in the 73rd minute on another assist from Hernandez to push the Spartans' lead back to two, 3-1. The Buccaneers answered quickly with Hubert Deragon receiving a pass from Ramos before scoring from long distance in the 74th minute. However, UNCG held ETSU in check the rest of the way to earn the 3-2 win.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Okawa scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season and had an assist for three points.
- Dovlo also posted a goal and an assist for three points.
- Hernandez led the Spartans with two assists in the match.
- Seth Wilson made two saves on the night.
- Wilson, Axel Alejandre, Jack Birch, Daniel Longo and Emmanuel Hagan each played the full 90 minutes.
- UNCG trailed ETSU in corner kicks, 6-4, and shots, 15-9.
RECORDS
UNCG: 10-2-4 (3-1-1 SoCon)
ETSU: 5-6-4 (3-1-1 SoCon)
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UP NEXT
UNCG has earned a first-round bye to the semifinals as the top seed for the 2024 SoCon Tournament and will compete on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 2:00 p.m. in Greensboro. The Spartans will face the winner of next Friday's (Nov. 8) quarterfinal matchup between fourth-seed Furman and fifth-seed Mercer, which starts at 7:00 p.m. at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
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