No. 12 UNCG Men’s Soccer Hosts No. 13 Indiana Saturday in NCAA Quarterfinals
Courtesy of Denise Archetto
Assistant Athletic Director For Strategic Communications
UNC Greensboro
Who: vs. No. 13 Indiana (12-4-6, 3-1-4 B1G)
When: Saturday, December 3rd
Where: Greensboro, N.C. | UNCG Soccer Stadium
Time: 5 p.m.
Tickets: Purchase tickets here
Live Stats | ESPN+
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men’s soccer team, who earned the 12-seed in the 2022 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament and a first-round bye, will face No. 13 Indiana Saturday evening at the UNCG Soccer Stadium for a quarterfinal game.
This will be the first time in program history for the matchup and first time that the Spartans have reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Tournament. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Spartans claimed their 12th Division I ticket into the bracket. The Spartans served as host for a second-round game. Ohio State and UNCG tied, 1-1, following two overtime periods and the Spartans prevailed in penalty kicks, 6-5, advancing to the third round.
UNCG then tied No. 5 Stanford in California last Sunday during the third round of the Tournament, 1-1. The Spartans once again prevailed in penalty kicks, 3-1.
This is the 21st bid into the NCAA Tournament since the program started, with seven appearances at the Division III level and two at the Division II level. This will be the second time under fourth-year Head Coach Chris Rich, a two-time SoCon Head Coach of the Year.
The Spartans earned its ninth regular season title after defeating Wofford, 2-1, on Saturday, October 29 in Spartanburg, South Carolina and their fifth SoCon Tournament Title with a 2-1 win over Mercer on Sunday, November 12 at home.
The Spartans finished the SoCon regular season undefeated with a 4-0-1 record. This was the first time since 2004 when UNCG went 6-0-1 that the Spartans went undefeated.
They are also 9-0-2 at home this season, which is the first undefeated season at UNCG Soccer Stadium since 2002, when the team went 8-0.
Indiana is playing in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament for the 28th time in program history, an NCAA record. It is also IU’s fourth Elite 8 appearance in the last six seasons.
The Hoosiers are coming off a pair of 1-0 shutout wins to start its NCAA Tournament run. After receiving a first-round bye, the Hoosiers beat Saint Louis in the second round before topping Marshall on Sunday.
As of November 13, Indiana had a RPI of 20, as the first Big Ten team in the poll. This is the 47th appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the Hoosiers.
AMONG THE NATIONAL RANKINGS (as of 11/27/2022)
– 8th in won-lost-tied percentage (0.800)
– 8th in total goals (46)
– 8th in goal differential (29)
– 10th in shot accuracy (0.496)
– 12th in scoring offense (2.30)
– 12th in total points (135)
– 17th in points per game (6.75)
– 17th in total assists (43)
– 18th in shots on goal per game (6.65)
– 19th in team goals against average (0.832)
– 19th in corner kicks per game (6.55)
– 22nd in assists per game (2.15)
SPARTANS AMONG THE NATION
– Niclas Wild – 33rd in goals against average (0.874), 16th in goalie minutes played (1750:00)
– J.C. Ngando – 2nd in total assists (14), 3rd in assists per game (0.70), 49th in total points (22), 64th in shots per game (2.65), 80th in points per game (1.10)
– Ismail El Harchi – 2nd in shot accuracy (0.650), 14th in game-winning goals (4), 22nd in total goals (10), 33rd in goals per game (0.53), 39th in shots on goal per game (1.37), 41st in total points (23), 49th in points per game (1.21)
– Marco Afonso – 28th in total assists (8), 31st in total points (24), 51st in points per game (1.20), 57th in total goals (8), 60th in assists per game (0.40)
RPI RANKINGS
– The RPI from November 13 had UNCG at No. 12.
– UNCG is unbeaten against five teams in the top-40 RPI:, Clemson (No. 5), SMU (No. 14), Louisville (No. 27), Elon (No. 29), and Ohio State (No. 39)
– UNCG is the top SoCon team in the rankings, with Mercer at No. 105.
– UNCG is the second school from North Carolina in the rankings as Duke is No. 6.
CLIMBING HIGH
– The Spartans climbed to No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches national poll for its first top-10 ranking this season and they moved up to No. 3 in the South Region.
– The No. 7 ranking is the highest mark since the 2004 season when the Spartans spent a three-week stretch as number one in the country.
– The squad also received a No. 9 ranking from TopDrawerSoccer and No. 8 College Soccer News.
SOCON ALL-CONFERENCE
– Twelve total Spartans earned 15 SoCon All-Conference awards this year.
– Head Coach Chris Rich earned his second SoCon Coach of the Year award.
– He is the seventh coach in SoCon history to earn the honor back-to-back years.
– The 15 All-Conference honors, included J.C. Ngando being named SoCon Player of the Year.
– He is the eighth from UNCG to be named SoCon Player of the Year, as Theo Collomb earned the recognition last year.
– Niclas Wild is the second student-athlete to be named SoCon Goalkeeper of the Year back-to-back years, along with ETSU’s Jonny Sutherland in 2016 and 2017.
– Ngando, Wild, Ismail El Harchi, Emmanuel Hagan, and Marco Milanese earned first team recognition.
– Steven Hernandez, Marco Afonso, Basile Marc, and Ethan Conley were selected for the second team.
– Hernandez, Sami Lachekar, Maddox Mallery, and Colton Sessoms earned All-Freshman Team honors.
LAST TIME OUT
· The Spartans tied Stanford, 1-1 following regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods. UNCG then upset Stanford in a penalty shootout with a score of 3-1.
· The round of 16 was the fourth time in Division I program history for the Spartans, after earning their 21st bid as a program and 12th Division I ticket after winning the 2022 SoCon Tournament.
· UNCG is now 8-9-3 overall in NCAA Division I Tournament play with its first match in program history against Stanford.
· Afonso scored his eighth goal of the season with Ngando’s 14th assist.
· Stanford outshot UNCG 12-3.
· Basile Marc, Ethan Conley, and Emmanuel Hagan scored in the penalty kick shootout for the Spartans, while Isaac Briner made three stops.
SCOUTING INDIANA
– Indiana has played 10 ranked opponents this season and earning a 6-1-3 record in those contests.
– IU has advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament in each of the previous seven seasons, the longest active streak.
– Ryan Wittenbrink is leading the Hoosiers with nine goals and nine assists for 27 points.
– Tommy Mihalic (6G, 2A) is second with 14 points and Herbert Endeley (3G, 5A) is third with 11 points.
– 15 Hoosiers have contributed to their 38 total goals this season.
– JT Harms has started in 14 games, playing in 15 this season. He has given up 16 goals for 1.11 goals against average, as well as tallying four shutouts and one combined clean sheet.
– Indiana fell to Rutgers in the Big Ten Final, 3-1.
HOOSIERS AROUND THE NATION (as of 11/27/22)
– 1st in penalty kicks (1.000)
– 7th in fouls per game (9.09)
– 16th in corner kicks per game (6.64)
– 23rd in total assists (40)
– 28th in won-lost-tied percentage (0.682)
– 29th in total points (116)
– 31st in total goals (38)
– 33rd in assists per game (1.82)
– 42nd in points per game (5.27)
– 47th in goal differential (11)
– 51st in scoring offense (1.73)
– 58th in shot accuracy (0.446)
– 68th in shots on goal per game (5.50)
– 80th in shutout percentage (0.318)
– 80th team goals against average (1.227)
– 81st in shots per game (12.32)
ALL-TIME HISTORY
– This will be the first contest between the two teams.
– This will be the fourth match against a Big Ten team.
– Lost to Michigan, 4-3 in overtime in 2003.
– Lost to Northwestern, 2-1 in 2006.
– Defeated Ohio State, 6-0 in 1991, then recently tied 1-1 two games ago.