SoCon men’s soccer takes to the airwaves on Friday night as Georgia Southern travels to UNC Greensboro for an 8:00 p.m. matchup LIVE on the Fox Soccer Channel. Below are preview from both teams:
Fans can follow the game on-line at UNCG live stats.
UNC GREENSBORO
UNCG hosts Georgia Southern in a huge SoCon clash Friday night. With both teams at 2-3-0 and Appalachian State at 2-3-1 in the battle for fourth place and a home game in the quarterfinal round of the SoCon Tournament, the winner of this match controls its only destiny. Appalachian State has just one conference match remaining, that being at College of Charleston on Saturday. Georgia Southern has to host College of Charleston next week for last conference match. The Spartans visit Elon for their final league match... Georgia Southern (6-8-0, 2-3-0) is coming off an exciting 3-2 victory over Appalachian State on October 20. Freshman forward Luigi Clendening scored the game-winning goal in the 87th minute ? his second goal of the day ? to give the Eagles the win and put them back in the home field hunt... UNCG stepped out of conference twice last week to face a pair of Top 10 teams in Wake Forest and Creighton. The Spartans haven't played a SoCon match since a 3-1 loss to College of Charleston at home on October 13... Thomas Campbell leads the Spartans in scoring with 18 points this season (8g, 2a)... Four Spartans will be honored in pre-game ceremonies as part of Senior Night. David Grayson, D.J. McCurry, David Worthen and Taylor Johnson will all be honored prior to their final regular season home match on Friday night... Friday night's festivities will also feature a halftime ceremony inducting five individuals and last year's two teams into the UNCG Soccer Wall of Honor. The individuals being inducted are Frank Land, Doug Hamilton, Scott Jones, Chris Goos and Randi Patterson. Patterson and Jones won't be able to be in attendance as they are with their respective MLS teams preparing for Saturday's playoff matches.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN
STATESBORO, Ga. ? The Georgia Southern men’s soccer team will challenge defending Southern Conference champion UNC Greensboro in front of an international audience, Friday night (Oct. 26), at UNCG Soccer Stadium. The game, to be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel as part of a 20-game telecast, is slated for 8 p.m. in Greensboro, N.C.
Georgia Southern (6-8-0, 2-3-0) is coming off an exciting 3-2 victory over Appalachian State (Oct. 20) at Eagle Field. Freshman forward Luigi Clendening (Augusta, Ga.) scored the game-winning goal in the 87th minute ? his second winner of the day ? lifting the Eagles over the Mountaineers for the win.
UNCG (6-7-2, 2-3-0) recently dropped a match to No. 10 Creighton, 2-0 (Oct. 20) in Greensboro, extending the team’s recent losing streak to three games. The Spartans’ last conference match ended in a 3-1 loss to College of Charleston (Oct. 13).
Friday’s game ? a rematch of the 2006 Southern Conference tournament title game ? is the 16th meeting between the schools. The Spartans claim a commanding 13-0-2 all-time series advantage over the Eagles. Prior to falling 3-0 in the tournament championship match (Nov. 5, 2006), the Eagles held on for a scoreless tie with the Spartans at Eagle Field (Sep. 20, 2006), which was one of a record-tying eight shutouts on the season.
Second-year head coach Kevin Kennedy’s Eagles are led on offense by Luigi Clendening with 12 points, including five goals (a team-high) and two assists. His mark in the points category is eighth-best in the Southern Conference. Junior forward Daniel Smith (Marietta, Ga.) follows with 10 points on three winners and a team-best four helpers. Smith ranks 10th in the conference in both assists and assists per game (.29).
The Spartans are captained by head coach Michael Parker in his 24th year. UNCG is led on offense by Thomas Campbell with 18 points, including eight goals (team-high) and two assists. Campbell leads the league in shots (50) and shots per game (3.33) while ranking second in points and goals. Following is Jokull Elisabetarson with 10 points on five goals. He ranks third in the league in shots (33) and shots on goal (2.36).