GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's soccer team started scoring goals early and never stopped in cruising to an easy 7-1 victory over USC Upstate in a non-conference match on a dew-covered field at the UNCG Soccer Stadium Tuesday night.
After having their six-match winning streak ended over the weekend at Belmont, enduring the seven-hour bus ride home, and relinquishing the nation's lead in goals scored, the Spartans were angry.
The 25th-ranked Spartans unleashed their fury on USC Upstate with a relentless offensive assault that was spectacular to witness. The Spartan scoring barrage came from so many angles that USC Upstate thought it was taking a geometry exam.
Quotable
UNCG sophomore Sam Coad on bouncing back from Saturday's loss to Belmont.
"It was a lesson learned and a good punch in the mouth for us. It was all about our response. We couldn't dwell on that loss for too long. We just had to focus on our next game and continue our season. Tonight, was amazing. It wasn't just me. It was a team effort, and this win means a lot."
Records
USC Upstate 3-7-3
UNCG 10-3-1
How It Happened
- Theo Collomb paced UNCG's offense with two goals and an assist.
- Marco Milanese and Daniel Mangarov had a goal and an assist each.
- Collomb and Mangarov scored less than three minutes into the match.
- Emmanuel Hagan fired a beautiful length of the field pass to Collomb, who made it 3-0.
- Sam Coad scored his first goal of the season in the final minute of the opening half.
- UNCG flexed its offensive muscle during a five-minute second half burst of brilliance to put the game away.
- Jack Birch, Milanese, and Chase Gilley added goals for UNCG.
- Milanese and Gilley's goals were scored 52 seconds apart.
- Fernando Garcia, Myson Darden, and J.C. Ngando also recorded assists.
- Even though it didn't result in a goal, Ngando had the move of the match when he twisted a USC Upstate defender into a pretzel while making him fall to the ground during a dribbling exhibition in which he unfurled a series of splendid fakes with the ball until he cleared some space to maneuver.
- Javier Torres scored for USC Upstate during the first half.
Inside the Numbers
- The Spartans improved to 4-0 this season against schools from the state of South Carolina.
- This was Collomb's fifth multi-goal scoring contest this season.
- Collomb has 13 goals this season and 21 for his career.
- UNCG tied a season-best with seven goals.
- The Spartans reached double digits in victories for the first time since 2017 and first time under third-year head coach Chris Rich.
- Coad became the 14th different UNCG goal scorer this season.
- UNCG outshot USC Upstate, 22-7.
- This is the third straight match in which UNCG has had at least 20 shots.
- This is the fourth match this season in which UNCG has scored at least five goals.
- UNCG keeper Niclas Wild had two saves.
- UNCG has scored 43 goals on 230 shots this season.
Final Word
Hagan on his long pass to Collomb.
"In practice we've always worked on strikers running behind the defense and finding space. So, we had the ball and rotated side by side. I took a touch. I saw him running behind the defense and he called my name. I hit the ball over and he had a nice finish. It's something we've been practicing over and over."
Up Next
- UNCG finishes its 2021 regular season home campaign against Wofford in a Southern Conference match Saturday at 7 p.m. UNCG will honor seniors Matthew Cutler, Fernando Garcia, and Theo Quartey prior to the match.
