SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The road to the 2021 Southern Conference men's soccer championship goes through Greensboro.
 
The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's soccer team secured the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Southern Conference Men's Soccer Championship after posting a 5-1-0 league mark this season. The Spartans, who are the defending 2020-21 SoCon tournament champions, won the regular-season championship for the first time since 2019, when they split with Furman.
 
UNCG (13-3-1 overall) has been led all season by a balanced and dynamic offense, which leads the NCAA in points (148), goals (51), assists (46), points per game (9.00), scoring offense (3.06), and goal differential (39).  Theo Collomb leads the nation in goals (15) and points (35).
 
The Spartans, ranked 22nd in the College Soccer News Top 25 poll, have had 16 different goal scorers this season. UNCG enters the SoCon Tournament having won four consecutive matches. The 13 victories are the most in a single season for a UNCG program since it won 16 matches in 2016.

The tournament begins Monday, Nov. 1, with No. 6 seed Wofford (4-10-1, 1-4-1 SoCon) hosting No. 7 seed VMI (1-15-1, 0-6) in Spartanburg. The Terriers bested the Keydets 8-1 on Sept. 18.
 
The quarterfinal round opens on Nov. 5 with the semifinal round set for Nov. 7, both hosted by top-seed UNCG and No. 2 seed Mercer. The championship will be played at the highest remaining seed on Nov. 13 or 14.
 
UNCG (13-3-1) grabbed a 2-0 victory over ETSU on Saturday to conclude the regular season, while Mercer concluded its regular season the same day with a 3-1 win over Wofford. The Bears went 8-7-1 overall and 4-1-1 in league play, losing its last bout to UNCG 3-0 on Saturday, Oct. 2.
 
Furman went 6-8-1 overall and 4-2-0 in league play to earn the No. 3 seed in a tiebreaker over Belmont. The Paladins will face the winner of No. 6 Wofford and No. 7 VMI in the quarterfinals hosted by Mercer in Macon, Georgia.
 
Belmont (11-4-1, 4-2-0) is the No. 4 seed and will take on No. 5 ETSU (4-7-3, 1-3-2) on Friday, Nov. 5, in Greensboro, North Carolina. In their last matchup on Sept. 18, the Bruins clinched a 1-0 victory over the Buccaneers. ETSU finished its regular season with a 2-0 loss to No. 1 seed UNCG, while Belmont concluded its regular season with a 2-0 nonconference win over Eastern Illinois Tuesday, Oct. 26.

The tournament winner earns the league's automatic bid to the Men's Soccer Championship.
 
2021 Men's Soccer Championship
Monday, Nov. 1
First Round (at higher seed)
Match 1: No. 7 VMI at No. 6 Wofford, 6 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 5
Quarterfinals (at No. 1 & No. 2 seeds)
Match 2: No. 4 Belmont vs. No. 5 ETSU, 6 p.m. (Greensboro, N.C.)
Match 3: Winner Match 1 vs. No. 3 Furman, 6 p.m. (Macon, Ga.)

Sunday, Nov. 7
Semifinals (at No. 1 & No. 2 seeds)
Match 4: Winner Match 2 vs. No. 1 UNCG, 6 p.m.
Match 5: Winner Match 3 vs. No. 2 Mercer, 3 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 13, or Sunday, Nov. 14
Final (Highest remaining seed, location TBD)
Match 6: Winner Match 4 vs. Winner Match 5, TBA

*all times Eastern unless otherwise noted