GREENSBORO, N.C. - Sitting back at the top of the Southern Conference standings with their win over ETSU, UNCG men's soccer can all but clinch a regular season conference title with a victory against Mercer this Tuesday. A winning decision over the Bears would end the Spartans' conference season at a record of 5-1-0, forcing Furman to win both of its matches against Wofford and Belmont in order to pass UNCG in the standings.
Spartans Clinch The SoCon Regular Season Title If:
UNCG defeats Mercer AND Furman does not win both of its matches against Belmont and Wofford
UNCG draws with Mercer AND Furman loses one of its matches against Belmont and Wofford
WHAT TO KNOW
Who: Mercer
Where: Greensboro, N.C. | UNCG Soccer Stadium
When: Tuesday October 29th | 7 p.m.
Watch | Live Stats
MATCHUP HISTORY
• UNCG is 10-7-0 against the Bears all-time, defeating Mercer 1-0 in the semifinals of last year's Southern Conference tournament
• Three of the pair's last five matchups have required overtime to find a winner, with the Spartans coming out on top in two of those contests
THE SPARTANS
• Senior Faisal Almubaslat scored his fourth goal of the year against ETSU, delivering the game-winner in a 1-0 victory during the 87th minute
• UNCG held the Bucs without a single shot on goal on Saturday, the Spartans have allowed less than three shots on target per match since the start of October
• UNCG's four shutouts are tied for a SoCon-best, with three of those clean sheets coming in conference play. The team's 0.40 goals allowed per match against league opponents is the lowest in the SoCon
• Defender Casey Penland scored a brace in the Spartans' 3-0 win over Wofford, his five goals on the year are tied with Micah Albert and Albert Pedra for a team-high
• Penland, Pedra and Cameron Fowler all have two goals in SoCon play this year, only four other players have more in 2019
THE BEARS
• Averaging 2.21 assists per game as a team, the Bears lead the conference and rank 13th in all of Division I men's soccer. They're led by forward Trevor Martineau, whose eight helpers sit 10th in the country
• Martineau also leads the conference in individual points with 24, he and Dawson Gideon (10) are the only Bears with double-digit points in 2019
COMING UP NEXT
The Spartans look to close out the regular season with a non-conference home match against Old Dominion, before prepping for the postseason. UNCG leads its series against the Monarchs 3-2, defeating ODU 2-1 in their most recent meeting in 2008.
-- UNCG –
