GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's soccer head coach Chris Rich has announced that Marco Milanese will join the program beginning in the 2021 season.
 
A native of Isernia, Italy, Milanese is transferring to the Spartans after playing the last three seasons at Akron. He was a starter for an Akron squad that played in the 2018 College Cup championship contest against Maryland.
 
He will be joining a UNCG recruiting class that is already ranked 24th in the country.
 
UNCG enjoyed a terrific 2021 spring season. The Spartans won the Southern Conference Tournament championship and made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in over a decade.
 
In addition, the Spartans received votes in the final United Soccer Coaches poll of the 2021 spring season. They were ranked 30th nationally in the final College Soccer News poll. UNCG finished with a 9-3-2 record and a .714 winning percentage, the best since 2005 (.717). 
 
Here's more about Milanese.
 
Akron Career
2021: Made six starts for the Zips this past spring … His only goal of the season was a game-winner against Southern Illinois Edwardsville on March 17…Akron had two clean sheets in the six contests he competed in.
 
2019: Started each of the 16 matches he appeared in for the Zips...helped Akron's defensive efforts to post four shutouts on the campaign...registered a goal on the strength of 14 shots, including six on goal...netted 85th-minute tally in a 3-2 overtime setback to Cornell (Sept. 28)...posted a shot in 10 contests, including registering a season-high three shots against Bowling Green (Nov. 15) in the Mid-American Conference Tournament...also added two shots apiece versus Cleveland State (Oct. 29) and Northern Illinois (Nov. 2).
 
2019 ACCOLADES: Earned Academic All-MAC accolades...nominated as a CoSIDA Academic All-America District nominee.

2018: Appeared in 23 matches, including garnering 21 starts...registered a goal and two assists on the strength of seven shots, with a pair falling on frame...named to TopDrawerSoccer.com 2018 Men's Freshman Top 100 Postseason list (No. 73) after helping lead a Zips' defensive unit that posted eight shutouts on the campaign...recorded first career goal in the 40th minute in a 4-3 road victory over VCU (Sept. 26)...collected an assist on the second of two goals for Carlo Ritaccio in a 3-1 road win past No. 12 West Virginia (Nov. 9) in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament...registered assist on Marcel Zajac's tally in the 15th minute at second-rated and three-time defending NCAA Champion Stanford (Nov. 30) in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament to snap a streak of 1,428:09 minutes in which the Cardinal had not surrendered a postseason goal.
 
2018 ACCOLADES: Selected to TopDrawerSoccer.com's Mid-Season Top-100 List (No. 68)...named to TopDrawerSoccer.com 2018 Men's Freshman Top 100 Postseason list (No. 73).

PRIOR TO COLLEGE: Gained valuable playing experience for Isernia in the Eccellenza League...a team captain for the Italian U-15 and U-17 squads, he also played for a youth club in Torino in the Berretti League before moving to Naples, Italy, to compete for the Napoli U-17 team...as a youth, he played for several landmark clubs such as Parma, where he competed in the Allievi Nazionali League.