GREENSBORO, N.C. – Senior
Matthew Cutler has enjoyed being part of the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's soccer program during his career. More importantly, Cutler has had a vital role in helping the Spartans develop into one of the elite men's soccer programs in the country.
Already a two-time Southern Conference champion, Cutler and the rest of the Spartans moved one step closer to adding a third title with a methodical 3-0 victory over Wofford at the UNCG Soccer Stadium Saturday night.
UNCG's path to the regular season championship is clear: win at East Tennessee State next Saturday night.
The Spartan performance during Senior Night in their regular season home finale featured all the usual fireworks, spectacular goals, and crowd-pleasing highlights UNCG has become known for under third-year head coach
Chris Rich.
Cutler along with
Fernando Garcia and
Theo Quartey were feted before the match with framed jersey's for their service to the Spartans. Then they went out and treated the fans to another exhibition of exquisite soccer.
Gallery: (10-23-2021) Wofford at UNCG, Oct. 23, 2021
Quotable
UNCG head coach Chris Rich on his seniors.
"Senior night is always an emotional night, full of love and memories. Always interesting for me because we have so much more soccer to be played. We recognize and are celebrating them, but our time together is hopefully many more weeks to come. All three of those guys, I love each and every one of them. All three are great kids and have had a tremendous impact on our program."
Cutler on what this night meant to him.
"First and foremost, it meant a lot to be able to step up and get the win tonight. Seeing where this program came from and being part of that is special. I got to see so much growth in the program being part of that it means the world."
How It Happened
- J.C. Ngando fueled UNCG's offense with a trio of assists that led to some beautiful finishes.
- Daniel Mangarov scored 10 minutes into the match to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead.
- Basile Marc found the net from long distance that doubled UNCG's advantage in the 32nd minute.
- Theo Collomb tallied his 14th goal of the season and the 22nd of his career in the 72nd minute.
- UNCG had eight shots in each half.
- Niclas Wild made one save for his eighth shutout of the season.
Inside the Numbers
- UNCG finished 6-0 against South Carolina schools in 2021.
- UNCG outscored its South Carolina opponents, 23-1, this season.
- The Spartans have scored 46 goals this season to lead the nation.
- UNCG has scored at least three goals nine times this season.
- The 11 victories are the most in a single season since 2016.
- Basile Marc became the 16th different Spartan with a goal this season.
- Ngando is tied with Joey Skinner for the team lead with seven assists.
- This was UNCG's ninth clean sheet of the season.
- Collomb scored three goals this week as the Spartans won their two matches by a combined, 10-1.
Final Word
Rich on the victory.
"A very good performance against a well-coached and good soccer playing team. I think Wofford is good and much better than their record reflects. The way we came out, starting with Danny's goal, was fantastic. We created a lot of chances. We scored three very good goals. What a goal by Basile from distance. It's probably the goal of the year and going to compete with
Angel Bacho's goal. Conference games are always tough and for us to get a 3-0 win and three points was important to us."
Up Next
- UNCG visits Longwood Tuesday in its final non-conference match at 7 p.m.
