Men's Soccer Hosts Appalachian State Saturday Night
GREESNBORO, N.C. – Fresh off one of its top performances of the season, the UNCG men's soccer team hosts Southern Conference foe Appalachian State Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the UNCG Soccer Stadium. The Spartans opened SoCon play Tuesday night with a dominating 4-0 victory at Davidson, while Appalachian State will be opening league play Saturday night. Live stats and free live video will be available at www.uncgspartans.com. Additionally, fans can follow the game on Twitter @uncgsports.
The Spartans kicked off league play in impressive fashion, scoring four first half goals, including three in a seven-minute stretch as they snapped a four-game winning streak by the Wildcats. Senior forward Hakan Ilhan (Stuttgart, Germany/Univ. of Stuttgart) led the way tying a program-record with four assists against Davidson, while four different players scored goals for UNCG.
Saturday's game marks the 29th meeting all-time between UNCG and Appalachian State. The Spartans hold a commanding 20-8-0 record in the all-time series, including wins in three out of the last four meetings. Last year, the Mountaineers posted a 1-0 victory in the regular season in Boone, N.C., as they were the only team to post a victory over UNCG in the regular season.
UNCG exacted revenge though in the semifinals of the SoCon Tournament as the Spartans knocked Appalachian State out of the tournament with a 2-1 victory in overtime in Boone. The Spartans rallied from a 1-0 deficit as Ilhan tied the game in the 55th minute while former Spartan Fannar Arnarsson scored the game-winner in the 97th minute of play off an Ilhan assist.
Saturday's game marks the 17th SoCon home opener in program history. The Spartans are 10-4-2 in league home openers, including a 2-0 victory over Furman last year. UNCG has played Appalachian State one other time in a league home opener, posting a 4-1 victory in 2001.
Appalachian State enters the game with a 4-3-1 overall record and has dropped back-to-back games against Saint Mary's and No. 16 Wake Forest. The Mountaineers have scored six goals this season in eight games while allowing seven goals against. David Dodge leads ASU with two goals as the only multiple-goal scorer for the Mountaineers. Danny Free has played all but 90 minutes in goal for the Mountaineers and owns a 0.97 goals against average.
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