JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Third year head men's soccer coach
Chris Rich has said all season that his UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's soccer program was built to win championships.
Playing with intensity, urgency, and energy, the Spartans transformed Rich's belief into reality.
UNCG conquered its final hurdle with a 2-0 victory over East Tennessee State at soggy and chilly Summers-Taylor Stadium Saturday night to win the 2021 Southern Conference regular season crown for the second time in three years under Rich.
The Spartans packaged a pair of beautiful goals during a spirited early stretch of the second half to accomplish their first objective.
As a heavy misting rain fell at precisely 9:06 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the Spartans celebrated by sprinting to the center of the pitch and shouting "UNCG." During the bus ride back to the locker room for the postgame meal, the entire team sang the timeless classic "We Are The Champions."
Rich on UNCG winning the regular season championship.
"I am incredibly proud of everyone. It takes a lot of people to get to this point. The players were tremendous tonight. We came into a difficult environment. Very rainy and tough surface to play our style in. It wasn't the best first half, but we had to grind it out. Our first goal was to win the regular season and we accomplished that tonight. Super proud of the guys, the staff, the support staff, and everybody at home. We compete to win trophies."
How It Happened
- Maycol Reyes found the back of the net for the first goal of the contest in the 51st minute.
- Four minutes later, Jack Birch fired a laser from deep that was trailed by comets tail.
- It was all the offense UNCG needed.
- The Spartans had a few more opportunities to stretch their lead, but ETSU's keeper, playing his final home game on senior night, made some strong saves.
- ETSU had five corner kicks and created some angst in the offensive zone, but Niclas Wild was ready.
Inside The Numbers
- Most wins in a single season since the 2006 squad won 16 matches.
- UNCG outscored its opponents this week, 5-0, in the second half.
- The Spartans blanked five of their six SoCon opponents this season.
- UNCG ended the regular season on a four-game winning streak.
- UNCG finished the regular season with 51 goals.
Birch on his goal in the second half.
"We had a set piece, but ETSU knew what we were going to do. The ball just came out to me, and all year, the coaches have always said get the ball in the box and don't leave it short. They would rather it go over the bar. Fortunately, it just happened to go into the net. I haven't watched it yet."
