No. 3 UNCG Men’s Soccer Falls to No. 5 Liberty in SoCon Final, 1-0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The No. 3-seeded UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men’s soccer team (7-3-9) fell to a second half goal from the No. 5 Liberty Flames (8-7-3) in The Southern Conference (SoCon) Championship game on Saturday evening at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
Liberty earned a hard-fought win to capture the crown in the squad’s first year in the SoCon, advancing through No. 4 ETSU and No. 1 Furman before edging out the Blue & Gold at home to earn the conference’s automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Goalkeeper Seth Wilson began a busy night in the sixth minute, producing a diving stop to deny a powerful first shot from the Flames. The redshirt senior produced another pair of fine saves in the 20th and 22nd minutes to keep the score knotted at 0-0.
Bendix Bennetzen was able to get UNCG’s first attempt of the night on goal on the 24th minute, but it didn’t trouble Liberty netminder Dan Rose.
The Spartans did settle as the first half went on, pushing forward with more intensity over the final 10 minutes. Sho Haggerty and Filipe Matos latched onto crosses around the six-yard box down the stretch, but were unable to direct finishes below the bar as the first 45 minutes ended scoreless.
Wilson was on hand to make two more big stops in the 55th and 66th minutes as Liberty regained momentum, but he could only keep the Flames at bay for so long. A decisive counter from the visiting side saw a clever backheel spring Samson Kpardeh through the UNCG backline, and his low finish broke the deadlock in the 70th minute.
The Blue and Gold pushed forward in search of a response, coming close just over 10 minutes later. Cutting inside from the left wing, Steven Hernandez beat Rose with a low shot only to see it ping off the far post and away from danger. While the Spartans continued applying pressure, Liberty dug in and was able to hold the line for the remaining time on the way to the title.
Wilson, midfielder Tiago Campos, and Trym Linberg were named to the SoCon All-Tournament team following the conclusion of the final, the first respective nods for all three Spartans.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
The Flames outshot UNCG 19-6 on the night, putting six attempts on target to one for the Spartans.
Wilson finished with five saves, the third-most in a game for the redshirt senior this season.
Corner kicks finished 8-5 in favor of Liberty.
Six Spartans recorded a shot during the game.
SEASON RECAP
UNCG finishes the year 7-3-9, having advanced to the SoCon title game in consecutive seasons as the No. 3 seed. After opening the year with a 4-1 win over VCU, the Spartans went on to battle for hard-fought draws against West Virginia, High Point, Wofford, and Furman while earning wins over NC State and Wofford after the two sides met again in the conference semifinals. The Blue & Gold went unbeaten in SoCon regular season play, 2-0-4.
from Davis Fields
Strategic Communications Coordinator
UNC Greensboro