Men's Soccer Hosts No. 4 Charlotte Saturday Night
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's soccer team returns home Saturday night to host its second-straight nationally ranked team as the Spartans welcome in No. 4 Charlotte to the UNCG Soccer Stadium. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and social media fans can print a coupon from the UNCG Spartan Athletics' Facebook page to receive a free UNCG koozie at the game.
Saturday's game marks the 17th meeting all-time between UNCG and Charlotte. The Spartans trail the all-time series by a slim 7-8-1 margin, including a 2-2-1 mark over the past five seasons. Last year, then No. 17 Charlotte recorded a 1-0 victory over the Spartans at home as Isaac Caughran scored the game's lone goal in the 78th minute
Goalkeeper Peyton Ford (Jamestown, N.C./Southwest Guilford) posted seven saves in the loss as the 49ers out-shot UNCG 15-6. UNCG last posted a victory over Charlotte with a 2-1 victory at home in the 2010 campaign. Ford notched the win, recoding four saves, while forward Hakan Ilhan (Stuttgart, Germany/Univ. of Stuttgart) scored one of the two UNCG goals.
The Spartans are coming off of back-to-back losses, dropping a 3-1 contest to No. 23 NC State and a 2-0 road loss at High Point Wednesday. UNCG has scored 13 goals this season while allowing 11 goals against. Ilhan leads the charge with nine points as he has scored four goals and dished out an assist. Junior Oddur Gudmundsson (Reykjavik, Iceland/Breidholti) is second on the team with four goals, including both of the Spartans' game-winning tallies.
Charlotte enters the game with a 5-0-1 record and is ranked No. 4 by College Soccer News, No. 5 by the NSCAA and No. 8 by Soccer America. Last season, the 49ers made a run in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the championship game where they fell to North Carolina 1-0. Charlotte has tallied victories this season over Denver, No. 14 Coastal Carolina, Stony Brook, Kentucky and South Carolina while tying No. 17 UAB.
The 49ers have scored 11 goals this season, while allowing just four goals against. Jennings Rex leads Charlotte with seven points as he has scored three goals and posted an assist. Klay Davis has played every minute in goal and owns an 0.60 goals against average with three shutouts.
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