GREENSBORO, N.C. –  The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's soccer team concluded its 2022 season with a historic finish in the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 3, falling to Indiana in the Elite Eight round. This was the first time as a Division I program to play in the quarterfinal round.
 
SOCON CHAMPIONS
The squad finished the season by winning the Southern Conference (SoCon) Regular Season Title and Tournament Championship to prove the SoCon Preseason poll to be correct after the conference picked the team to finish on top. After finishing the season first in the conference, the Spartans earned a bye into SoCon Tournament semifinal round and the right to host. The team defeated No. 5 Furman 6-3 in the semifinal round to advance to the championship. UNCG then came away with the 2-1 victory over No. 3 Mercer to earn the title of SoCon Champions at home.
 
IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
In the team's 10th Division I bid into the NCAA Tournament and 19th in program history, the Spartans received a bye and the right to host the second round of the NCAA Tournament. UNCG tied Ohio State 1-1 and punched its ticket to the third round with a 6-5 victory in penalty kicks. The Spartans then traveled across the country, meeting No. 5 Stanford in the third round, where the two teams reached a draw and the Spartans won in penalty kicks, 3-1. The team then came back to North Carolina hosting No. 13 Indiana, falling 2-0 in the elite eight round of the tournament to conclude the phenomenal season.
 
SEASON LEADERS
Ismail El Harchi led the team with 10 goals on the season and three assists. His 23 points was second on the team. J.C. Ngando led the way in assists with 14 and was third on the team with 22 total points. Marco Afonso totaled 24 points, with eight goals and eight assists to lead the team. In net, Niclas Wild led the way for the squad by notching 45 total saves in 20 games played with a 0.93 goals against average. He had a 12-2-6 record with five shutouts.  
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Ngando finished the season 16th in the nation in total assists, 40th in shots on goal per game, 56th in shots per game, and 63rd in assists per game.
 
Afonso concluded the season ranked 16th in total assists, 20th in total goals, 25th in total points, 43rd in points per game, and 63rd in assists per game.
 
El Harchi was ranked 20th in total goals, 40th in shots on goal per game, 46th in total points, 61st in shots per game, and 70th in goals per game.
 
Wild was ranked seventh in goalie minutes played, 12th in total saves, 18th in goals against average, 25th in save percentage, and 35th in saves per game.
 
As a team, the Spartans were in the top 40 of 18 categories, including ninth penalty kicks, 13th in total assists and total assists, 15th in assists per game, 16th in shutout percentage, 17th in team goals against average, 19th in fouls per game, total goals, and total points, 25th in won-lost-tied percentage, 26th in save percentage, 32nd corner kicks per game, 33rd in points per game and shot accuracy, 35th in shots per game, 36th in goal differential, saves per game, 38th in scoring offense, and 39th in shots on goal per game
 
In addition, UNCG achieved its highest ranking in program history at No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches final poll of the 2022 season. The previous highest ranking was No. 9 in 2004.
 
SOCON LEADERS
The Spartans finished the 2022 season first in 12 different statistical categories in the SoCon. The team led the way in assists per game, corner kicks per game, goal differential, points per game, scoring offense, shot accuracy, shots per game, shots on goal per game, total assists, total goals, total points and its won-lost-tied percentage.
 
…AND THE AWARD GOES TO…
After an incredible regular season, the Spartans earned three major awards including, Ngando being named the SoCon Player of the Year, Wild being named the SoCon Goalkeeper of the Year and Head Coach Chris Rich being named the SoCon Coach of the Year. Meanwhile, 12 players of UNCG earned 13 SoCon All-Conference awards.
 
Also, Ngando's efforts this season allowed him to be named to the United Soccer Coaches 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer All-America first team and MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist.
 
Ngando also earned United Soccer Coaches All-Region first team honors, while Hagan and Milanese were named to the second team, and El Harchi was voted to the third team.
 
STUDENT BEFORE ATHLETE
Milanese was named to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American second team and is the third in program history.
 
Wild was recognized for his work in the classroom, as he is UNCG's first-ever College Sports Communicators (CSC) Division I Men's Soccer Academic All-American Team Member of the Year. He was also voted to the Academic All-America first team, while Milanese was selected to the second team.
 
Wild, Conley, Milanese, and Basile Marc received CSC Academic All-District honors.
 
WEEK BY WEEK
The team had a lot of success each week throughout the entire season. The Spartans picked up a total of 10 weekly awards from the SoCon throughout the season. For SoCon Offensive Player of the Week, Harchi and Ngando earned the award twice, while Steven Hernandez and Marco Afonso notched the mention once a piece on the season. As far as SoCon Defensive Player of the Week, Wild earned the title twice on the season, while Ethan Conley and Marco Milanese picked it up once each over the 2022 stanza.
 
PROFESSIONAL STARS
Ngando received an invite to the 2022 adidas MLS College Showcase in December and then was later named to the 2023 Generation adidas class later that month. The sophomore then was a first round, fifth pick in the MLS SuperDraft being selected to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
 
Senior Ethan Conley was selected in the second round as a 50th pick to the New York Red Bulls.
 
Late in January, fifth year senior Marco Milanese signed with Union Omaha. 
 
THE CONCLUSION
The Spartans finished the season with a 13-2-6 overall record and 4-0-1 in the SoCon. The team looks to continue its success in the fall of 2023 under the leadership of Head Coach Chris Rich. Rich enters his fifth season with UNCG this fall.