UNCG Men’s Soccer’s Hagan Collects Two More Preseason Honors
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men’s soccer senior defender Emmanuel Hagan has earned two more preseason accolades as the Spartans open the 2023 season tonight against the California Golden Bears at the UNCG Soccer Stadium at 7 p.m.
Hagan was selected to the College Soccer News 2023 Men’s Preseason All-America second team. College Soccer News annually issues a preseason All-America team with the goal in mind of recognizing players who have excelled in the past and are likely to again be difference makers in 2023.
The Accra, Ghana native was also named TopDrawerSoccer Preseason 100 best players in men’s college soccer. Hagan was the lone representative from The Southern Conference (SoCon).
In early August, Hagan was named to the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Defender Watch List. He was among 24 defenders selected for the list.
He has been a key defender for the Spartans for three years, playing in 49 games over his collegiate career thus far. He has scored three goals and tallied three assists for nine total points during his time with the Blue & Gold. Last season, the center back assisted UNCG to 0.89 goals against average, which was ranked 22nd in the nation. The Spartans let up just 19 goals last season, but scored 46, which was ranked ninth in the nation.
Last year Hagan was voted to the United Soccer Coaches All-South Region second team, after previously earning third team recognition his sophomore and freshman years. He was also voted to the SoCon All-Conference first team three times in his career, as well as the All-SoCon Freshman team. He was also on the TopDrawerSoccer Top-100 Freshman List in spring of 2021.
The United Soccer Coaches placed UNCG at No. 10 in the preseason poll. The Spartans were voted No. 7 in the College Soccer News Preseason National Poll, sitting between Pittsburgh at No. 6 and Clemson at No. 8. They received a No. 10 preseason ranking from TopDrawerSoccer, where the Spartans were placed between No. 9 Marshall and No. 11 Maryland.
UNCG is set to open the 2023 season at home with its opener on today, August 24. The Spartans will host Cal at 7:00 p.m. at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.
They will then travel to College Park, Maryland for a Sunday, August 27 contest to battle Maryland at 7:00 p.m. Last season, the Terps fell in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Maryland was voted No. 11 in the TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Poll, No. 14 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason poll, and No. 17 in the College Soccer News Preseason poll.
Courtesy of Denise Archetto
Assistant Athletic Director For Strategic Communications
UNC Greensboro