GREENSBORO, N.C.—UNCG men's soccer team hopes to turn its Southern Conference season around when they visit Wofford, 7 p.m., Saturday, in a match crucial to keeping the Spartans' regular-season title hopes alive.

The Spartans (4-6-1 overall, 1-1-1 SoCon) are looking to snap a three-match winless streak which features a pair of overtime losses and just one offensive goal following Wednesday's scoreless draw with Davidson. UNCG is currently in a four-way tie for third place in the SoCon standings but the Spartans trail league-leading Georgia Southern (3-0-0) by five points (9-4).

Wofford currently resides at the bottom of the SoCon standings with an 0-3-0 record in league play. The Terriers are, however, fresh off a 3-1 win over Liberty on Tuesday. Alex Hutchins leads Wofford with four goals and nine points while four different goalkeepers have combined for a 1.77 goals-against average and one shutout. The Terriers are 4-7-1 overall and have won just twice in their last 10 matches.

Junior Hakan Ilhan leads the Spartans in goals (5), assists (3) and points (13), while junior goalkeeper Peyton Ford ranks third in the SoCon with a 0.87 goals-against average. Ford also has three shutouts.


Spartan Storylines
•    Head coach Justin Maullin is 16-12-5 (.561) in his second season with the Spartans, including 5-2-3 (.650) in SoCon games
•    Saturday's match is the 19th meeting in the series between the Spartans and the Terriers, with UNCG holding a 16-1-1 advantage in the series. UNCG's only loss in the series was a 3-1 defeat in the 2009 Southern Conference Tournament.
•    The Spartans are 0-4-0 on the road this season
•    Junior goalkeeper Peyton Ford earned his 12th career shutout on Wednesday against Davidson. He now trails current assistant coach Jay Benfield (2001-05) by two shutouts for second on the school's all-time list.
•    Benfield was the last Spartan keeper to post a sub-1.00 goals-against average, finishing the 2005 season at 0.83


--UNCG--