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UNC Greensboro

Isaac Briner
Carlos Morales
1
Ohio St. OSU (11-3-6, 4-2-2)
1
UNC Greensboro UNCG (13-1-5, 4-0-1)
Ohio St. OSU
(11-3-6, 4-2-2)
1
Final
1
UNC Greensboro UNCG
(13-1-5, 4-0-1)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 OT 2 OT 3 F
Ohio St. OSU 0 1 0 0 0 1
UNC Greensboro UNCG 0 1 0 0 0 1

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Denise Archetto, Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communications

No. 12 Men’s Soccer Outlasts Ohio State with Penalty Kicks to Keep Dancing

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The No. 12 UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's soccer team, who earned its 12th ticket to the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, withstood the defensive attack of Ohio State Sunday night at UNCG Soccer Stadium. The Spartans and Buckeyes tied at the end of double overtime, but UNCG advances to the third round after a 6-5 result in penalty kicks.
 
UNCG is now 8-9-2 overall in NCAA Division I Tournament play. This is the fourth time in Division I history that the Spartans will play in the third round. 
 
With the win at UNCG Soccer Stadium, the Spartans extended its unbeaten streak to 9-0-2 at home. This is the first undefeated season at home since 2002, when the team went 8-0.  
From Head Coach Chris Rich
"Incredible moment for the guys, staff, fans, alumni, university. There are so many people that are excited right now and as the coach of this program it makes me super proud.
 
Obviously, Ohio State is very good and it was a back and forth game, where I felt both teams had their moments. Overall, I thought we did super well tonight. I felt like we could have won it in regulation and disappointing for conceding the goal after going up 1-0, but for us to see the game out and execute in penalty kicks is incredible.
 
Isaac Briner, that hasn't played at all, to step up in that moment, is massive. And, players like Maddox Mallery, a freshman that played a few minutes and hasn't played a lot recently, to score the winning penalty kick is special. For us to be successful, we need guys to step up in big moments, and I think we got that tonight."
 
How it Happened
Even with Ohio State's pressure in the first half, UNCG was able to get off six shots with two being on net, while the Buckeyes tallied four with one on target. The Spartans' Ethan Conley had one of the shots on goal in the 38th minute inside of the 18-yard box that the Buckeyes' goalkeeper, Keagan McLaughlin was ready for, tallying his third save of the game.
 
The pressure and aggressiveness from both teams only escalated through the second half. J.C. Ngando took a chance just outside the 18-yard box at 52:53 that went just wide right of the post. With a set piece right around midfield in the 76th  minute of the game, Sami Lachekar served it to just outside the 18-yard box and Ngando once again struck the ball for a shot saved by McLaughlin.
 
Less than a minute later, UNCG brought the ball up the field and each pass cleanly found the feet of a Spartan. Marco Afonso crossed the ball into the 18-yard box from the right to find Maycol Reyes. Reyes was covered by two Buckeye defenders and passed it to Ismail El Harchi for the one-timer to the back of the net for a 1-0 advantage at 76:20. Just under four minutes later, Parker Grinstead charged into the 18-yard box for the game-tying goal.
 
UNCG outshot Ohio State 4-3 in the two overtime periods where neither team came out on top. The Spartans' Niclas Wild made two saves in the second overtime.
 
Both teams made their first and second penalty kicks, as both missed their third attempts. Ohio State & UNCG exchanged successful penalty kicks over the next three rounds. The Buckeyes' seventh attempt was stopped by Briner. Mallery stepped up to the challenge for the Spartans' next shot and found the back of the net to advance the Spartans to the Sweet 16.
 
By the Numbers
  •  El Harchi scored his 10th goal of the season.
  • Reyes tallied his fourth assist of the season.
  • Afonso registered his ninth helper of the season.
  • Niclas Wild made three saves in the game.
  • UNCG outshot Ohio State 17-12.
  • Both teams had five corner kicks each.This is the first game that went to penalty kicks for the Spartans since November 12, 2017 when Mercer and UNCG tied 1-1. The Bears advanced in the SoCon Tournament 3-2 in penalty kicks.
  • UNCG is unbeaten against five teams in the top-40 RPI: Clemson (No. 5), SMU (No. 14), Louisville (No. 27), Elon (No. 29), and Ohio State (No. 39). 
Records
UNCG: 13-1-5, 4-0-1 SoCon
Ohio State: 11-3-6, 4-2-2 Big Ten
 
Up Next
The Spartans will continue on to the third round of the 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. UNCG will travel across the country to face No. 5 Stanford (12-2-5, 4-2-4 Pac-12) on Sunday, November 27 at 8 p.m. EST, 5 p.m. PST. The Sweet 16 game will be played in Stanford, California at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
 
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