SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Championships shifts to the UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, N.C., for the semifinal and final matches, beginning Thursday at 5 p.m. The top four seeds – Mercer, Wofford, Furman and UNCG – will all be battling for the tournament title and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship.

Both of Thursday’s semifinal matches will air live on the SoCon Digital Network, with Ran Northam and Kyle Rush on the call. Saturday’s championship match, set for 7 p.m., will be broadcast live on ESPN3, with Pete Yanity handling play-by-play duties and Charlie Slagle serving as analyst.

No. 2 seed Wofford (11-5-1, 7-2-1 SoCon) will take on No. 3 seed Furman (10-5-3, 5-4-1) in Thursday’s first semifinal in a rematch of the regular-season finale for both squads. The Terriers won that contest 1-0 on Nov. 1, clinching a first-round bye in the tournament. Wofford will be making its fourth semifinals appearance, with all of them coming since 2009, when it won its lone SoCon Championship title. The Terriers have appeared in each of the last two finals.

The Paladins downed No. 6 seed VMI 1-0 in the SoCon Championship first round in Greenville, S.C.,on Nov. 8 to earn its fourth semifinals appearance in the last five seasons and 23rd in 26 tournament appearances. Furman has won the tournament 11 times, with its last title coming in 2007.

Wofford and Furman have met eight times in the tournament since Wofford joined the league in 1997, with Furman holding a 6-2-0 advantage. The Terriers have won the last two meetings, however, earning 2-1 wins in each of the last two years. Last season’s semifinal meeting between the top-seeded Terriers and No. 4 Furman was the first to feature Wofford as the higher seed and the only one in the tournament series to occur after the first round.

Wofford won both regular-season meetings between the teams this season and has won five straight against the Paladins overall.

No. 1 seed Mercer (13-6-0, 8-2-0) will take on tournament host and No. 4 seed UNCG (6-11-2, 5-4-1) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The Bears, who won this year’s SoCon regular-season title in their first year in the league, will be making their SoCon Championship debut. Mercer last won a conference tournament when it won the Atlantic Sun Championship in 2001. More recently, the Bears were runners-up in the A-Sun tournament in 2009 and 2012.

UNCG tied for third in the SoCon standings this season, good for its fourth top-three finish in the last five seasons. The Spartans downed No. 5 seed ETSU 2-1 in Greensboro in dramatic fashion in the tournament’s first-round, getting a game-tying goal just 24 seconds after the Bucs had taken a late lead and then the game-winner in the 104th minute, both from Jacques Francois. UNCG, making its first semifinals appearance since 2011, has now reached the semifinals 13 times since joining the league in 1997. The Spartans have won the tournament five times, most recently in 2010.

2014 SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship

Nov. 8 (Saturday)
First round (at higher seeds) (SoCon Digital Network)
Match 1: No. 4 UNCG 2, No. 5 ETSU 1 (2OT)
Match 2: No. 3 Furman 1, No. 6 VMI 0

Nov. 13 (Thursday)
Semifinals (Greensboro, N.C.) (SoCon Digital Network)
Match 3: No. 2 Wofford vs. No. 3 Furman, 5 p.m.
Match 4: No. 1 Mercer vs. No. 4 UNCG, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 15 (Saturday)
Final (Greensboro, N.C.) (ESPN3)
Match 5: Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 7 p.m.

All times Eastern.