SoCon Announces Men's Soccer Preseason Predictions

GREENSBORO, N.C. – After taking home the 2021 Southern Conference (SoCon) Regular Season title, the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's soccer team has been selected as the preseason favorite to claim the 2022 SoCon men's soccer title in voting completed by the league's head coaches.
 
UNCG totaled 25 points in the poll with five first-place votes. Mercer and Furman tied for second with 19 points, while the Bears received the final first-place vote. ETSU (12 points), Wofford (10 points), and VMI (5 points) followed in fourth, fifth, and sixth place, respectively.
 
The SoCon men's soccer head coaches also selected an 11-member preseason All-Conference team, with UNCG leading the way with four selections. Wofford, Furman, and Mercer each had two.
 
J.C. Ngando, Emmanuel Hagan, Marco Milanese, and Niclas Wild, who were all All-SoCon first team honorees last season, picked up Preseason All-Confernce accolades.
 
J.C. Ngando

• Started in 14 games, played in 15
• Scored 5 goals, 8 assists, 18 points
• 2 game-winning goals
• 2021 SoCon Freshman of the Year
• 2021 United Soccer Coaches All-Region Third Team
• 2021 College Soccer News All-Freshman Second Team
  2021 All-SoCon Tournament Team
• SoCon Player of the Week
• He was ranked 13th nationally in assists per game (0.53) and 32nd in total assists (8)

Emmanuel Hagan

• Started and played in 18 games
• Scored 1 goal, 2 assists, 4 points
• 1 game-winning goal
• 2021 SoCon All-Conference first team
• 2021 United Soccer Coaches All-Region Third Team
• SoCon Defensive Player of the Week

Marco Milanese

• Started and played in 17 games
• Scored 2 goals, 1 assist, 5 points
• 1 game-winning goal
• 2021 SoCon All-Conference first team
• SoCon Defensive Player of the Week 

Niclas Wild

• Started and played in 17 games
• 14 goals against, 0.80 goals against average
• 36 saves, 0.720 save percentage
• 12-4-1 record
• 9 shutouts
• 2021 SoCon Goalkeeper of the Year
• 2021 SoCon All-Conference first team

In winning the Southern Conference regular season and 13 matches, the Spartans ended the season as the national leader in corner kicks per game (8.00), goal differential (38), points per game (8.39), scoring offense (2.89).
 
UNCG was second in the country in shots per game (17.00) and shots on goal per game (7.50). UNCG's total of 52 goals was third nationally. The Spartans were leading the country in that category at the end of the regular season. With 10 shutouts, including one against Virginia on the road, the Spartans were fourth nationally in shutout percentage (.556).
 
They were sixth in assists per game (2.61) and points (151). UNCG was 10th in total assists (47), 12th in team goals against average (.755) and 15th in win-loss percentage (.750). Overall, UNCG was ranked in the top 15 nationally in 13 of the 20 major NCAA statistical categories.

Individually, the Spartans had four players rank among the top 100 in many statistical categories.

The Spartans, led by fourth-year head coach Chris Rich, will return seven starters from last years' squad and will begin the season with a home game on Thursday, August 25 against UNC Asheville with a 7:30 p.m. start time. 

2022 Preseason Southern Conference Men's Soccer Poll

1. UNCG (5)	25
T2. Mercer (1)	19
T2. Fuman	19
4. ETSU	12
5. Wofford	10
6. VMI	5

() first-place votes

2022 Preseason All-Southern Conference Men's Soccer Team
F             Tarik Pannholzer, ETSU, Jr. 
F             Jake Raine, Furman, Jr. 
F             Brandon Oddy, Wofford, Sr. 
MF          Dylan Gaither, Mercer, Sr. 
MF          Ousman Jabang, Mercer, Sr. 
MF          JC Ngando, UNCG, So. 
D             Josh Hosie, Furman, Jr. 
D             Emmanuel Hagan, UNCG, Jr. 
D             Marco Milanese, UNCG, Sr. 
D             Amin Mohammedi, Wofford, So. 
GK          Niclas Wild, UNCG, Jr.