Wilson Named Goalkeeper of the Year, Francis Newcomer as Seven Earn All-Conference Honors
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Seven members of the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men’s soccer team were tabbed to The Southern Conference (SoCon) All-Conference teams, the league announced on Wednesday afternoon, while midfielder Keaviano Francis and goalkeeper Seth Wilson also took home individual honors.
Francis became the first SoCon Newcomer of the Year in men’s soccer after the award’s introduction this year, while Wilson was voted as the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year for the first time. Both earned First Team All-Conference recognition along with defender Trym Linberg, while the Spartans also placed each of Tiago Campos, Lasse Dahl, Pablo Torre, and Mathis Robinand on the All-Conference Second Team.
UNCG’s seven All-Conference selections tied SoCon champion Furman for the most among all teams, while the Spartans took home two of the league’s three individual player awards thanks to Francis and Wilson. Furman’s Wilfer Bustamante was named the 2026 SoCon Player of the Year.
A senior transfer from Marshall, Francis has made an immediate impact in his first season with the Blue & Gold, starting all 16 games to this point in midfield. The East London, South Africa, native came out of the gates hot with three goals in UNCG’s first four matches. He’s paced the Spartans in points all season, with 16, having scored seven times and assisted another two in a career-best campaign. Francis currently stands fourth in the SoCon in both points and goals. He was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 1 after netting the lone goal for UNCG in a 1-1 draw with West Virginia.
A Second Team selection in 2025, Wilson led the SoCon in goalkeeper minutes played (1440:00), goals against average (1.000) and tied for the season high in shutouts with five. He produced 43 saves on the year, an average of 2.69 per game, for a .729 save percentage. Through 16 games so far in 2026, Wilson has been an essential piece of a Spartan defense that’s allowed multiple goals in a match just twice. The Frisco, Texas, native was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 15 after producing a season-high seven stops against then-No. 6 South Carolina on the road.
Linberg, who was a SoCon All-Freshman selection in 2025, joins the pair as another first time First Team honoree. The sophomore defender from Bærumsverk, Norway, was one of five players with four assists in the SoCon this season and is currently one behind Dahl for the team high. Sporting a career-best six points at the moment, Linberg started in all 15 of his appearances this season and was a force for both a defense that ranked 30th nationally in team goals against average (1.000) and the Spartan offense. He scored UNCG’s lone goal in a 1-1 draw at Wofford on Oct. 24 and was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 25 after a two-assist outing against VMI in the season opener.
Both first time honorees, Dahl and Torre comprised two of the three forwards on the Second Team. A junior transfer from Pittsburgh, Dahl is leading the Blue & Gold in assists with five and has scored once, currently standing as one of three Spartans with seven points and one of five players in the SoCon with five helpers. Hailing from Vildbjerg, Denmark, the junior has been a consistent presence in big games this season for UNCG as he notched points against West Virginia, Davidson, NC State, and Wofford. Dahl has started all 16 games so far in his first year in Greensboro.
Another junior, Torre finished the season with six points after scoring twice and assisting a further two goals. The McAllen, Texas, native saw action in all 16 games (starting 15) and was instrumental in UNCG’s 3-1 win over NC State as he scored and assisted a goal for a three-point evening.
A senior midfielder from São Paulo, Brazil, Campos has captained the Blue & Gold along with Wilson in his first season after transferring in from Gardner-Webb. While the veteran midfielder hasn’t recorded any points yet, he has been a steady presence on the pitch and has been instrumental tactically for the Spartans. Campos has logged the third most minutes on the team (1358) and started all 16 games so far for the Spartans, playing the full 90 minutes in 10 of them.
A freshman defender from Rognac, France, Robinand has been a solid presence for UNCG since making his debut off the bench against No. 6 South Carolina. Starting the last nine games following his debut, Robinand has been a part of three shutouts this season and has helped the Spartans concede more than one goal just once during his time as a starter. He’s also proved to be a timely scorer, notching the winner against Liberty thanks to his first collegiate goal in the 84th minute back on Sept. 19 before smashing home a penalty in a 1-1 draw with Furman on Oct. 27. Robinand was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 13.
The UNCG men’s soccer team is back in action on Thursday, hosting the No. 6-seeded VMI Keydets in the SoCon Tournament Quarterfinals at UNCG Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 5:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
2026 Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Postseason Awards
2026 Coach of the Year
Ryan Osborne, Wofford
2026 Player of the Year
Wilfer Bustamante, Furman
2026 Newcomer of the Year
Keaviano Francis, UNC Greensboro
2026 Goalkeeper of the Year
Seth Wilson, UNC Greensboro
2026 All-SoCon First Team
Forwards
Wilfer Bustamante, Furman
Jaime Carrillo, ETSU
Gavin Dick, ETSU
Samson Kpardeh, Liberty
Midfielders
Luke Hutzell, Furman
Diego Hernandez, Furman
Keaviano Francis, UNC Greensboro
Javan Ochieng, Liberty
Defenders
Braden Dunham, Furman
Scott Cheevers, Wofford
Trym Linberg, UNC Greensboro
Goalkeeper
Seth Wilson, UNC Greensboro
2026 All-SoCon Second Team
Forwards
Ronnie Gorman, Liberty
Lasse Dahl, UNC Greensboro
Pablo Torre, UNC Greensboro
Midfielders
Tiago Campos, UNC Greensboro
Fabian Menendez, Wofford
Elliott Edwards, ETSU
Defenders
Ryan Wagner, Furman
Connor Stout, Furman
Mathis Robinand, UNC Greensboro
Adam Celik, Wofford
Goalkeeper
Aaron Salinas, Furman
Pepe Hinterschuster, Wofford
Courtesy of Davis Fields
Strategic Communications Coordinator
UNC Greensboro