RICHMOND, Va. – In its first road test of the season, the No. 19 UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's soccer team played to a 2-2 draw against Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Saturday night at Sports Backers Stadium.
The Spartans No. 19 ranking is from the United Soccer Coaches National Poll. This week, they are also ranked No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches South Region and No. 22 in the College Soccer News Poll.
UNCG's 4-0-1 record is the best start in program history since 2004 when the Spartans also went 4-0-1 to begin the season and 19-3-1 overall. In Head Coach
Chris Rich's four years at the helm, this is the best start.
From Head Coach Chris Rich
"Tonight is a huge learning moment for us. We played very good in the first half and deserved more than just a 1-0 lead. But the second half was incredibly disappointing. We had a great start to the second half with the early goal, but we stopped playing after that. We had too many immature moments and we stopped competing at a high level.
I knew tonight was going to be a test. VCU is better than their record indicates and playing on the road is never easy. We will take the draw and will embrace the opportunity to learn and grow as a group."
By the Numbers:
- UNCG outshot VCU 21-10 and had seven corners to the Rams five.
- Junior goalkeeper Niclas Wild made one save in the match.
- The Spartans hold the edge in the series 3-2-1.
How it Happened:
- The Spartans dominated the first half of play outshooting the Rams 13-1.
- 11:58: UNCG held possession most of the first half and after bringing the ball inside the 18-yard box, J.C. Ngando found Basile Marc at the top of the box. Marc took an initial shot that was punched out by the diving goalkeeper and Marco Afonso headed the ball back in to take a 1-0 advantage.
- 46:24: Ngando once again had his hand in the action as he fed the ball to Izaiah Vignali on the right side of the 18-yard box. Vignali then crossed a defender with an initial shot blocked, before striking the ball a second time parallel to the end line that slid through the goalkeeper for a 2-0 lead.
- VCU outshot the Rams 9-8 with their offensive spark in the second half.
- 60:12: Philip Klomp sent a cross from left to right, finding Camilo Comi in the six-yard box to cut the deficit to one.
- 85:08: The Rams' Jean-Claude Bile scored the equalizer after a giant scramble inside the six-yard box.
Records:
- UNCG: 4-0-1, 0-0-0 SoCon
- VCU: 0-3-1, 0-0-0 A10
Up Next
UNCG follows this trip with another road test in Dallas, Texas to face SMU on Tuesday, September 14 at 8:00 p.m. EST.
