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Spartans to battle Elon in SoCon championship match on Sunday
GREENSBORO, N.C.—UNCG men's soccer team faces Elon in a winner-take-all championship match at the Southern Conference Tournament, Sunday in Boone, N.C. The contest can be seen live on ESPN3.
The Spartans (10-7-2) are seeking their second straight tournament title and seventh SoCon crown overall. They advanced to the title round by downing tournament host Appalachian State, 2-1, in overtime on Friday as sophomore Fannar Arnarsson scored the winning goals in the 98th minute.
Elon advanced by knocking off 16th-ranked Furman, 1-0.
Spartan Storylines
• Head coach Justin Maullin is 22-13-6 (.610) in his second season with the Spartans, including 9-2-3 (.750) in SoCon regular-season games and 5-0 in SoCon Tournament play
• UNCG is seeking its seventh SoCon Tournament championship
• UNCG is 27-9 all-time in SoCon Tournament play including five consecutive wins over two seasons
• The Spartans are seeking their 13th trip to the NCAA Tournament in 21 years as a Division I program
• UNCG captured Division III National Championships in 1982, 1983, 1985-87; and was the Division II runner-up in 1989
• The Spartans are 1-0 all-time in SoCon Tournament matches with Elon, winning the only previous meeting by a 1-0 score in 2005
• Saturday's match is the 17th meeting in the series between the Spartans and the Phoenix, with UNCG holding a 10-4-2 advantage all-time
• UNCG defeated Elon 1-0 back on October 29th to clinch the SoCon regular season title as freshman Cameron Owens scored the winning goal in the 82nd minute
• In five career SoCon tournament games, junior forward Hakan Ilhan has five goals and one assist, including a goal and an assist on the winning goal on Friday against Appalachian State
• Junior goalkeeper Peyton Ford added to his school record with his 18th career shutout last Saturday against Wofford
• Ford enters Sunday's championship match all but assured of setting the UNCG season record for goals-against average. With a 0.57 gaa, Ford is on pace to shatter the previous season record of 0.83 set by current assistant Jay Benfield in 2005.
