SPARTANBURG, S.C. – ETSU forward Tarik Pannholzer and UNCG defender Marco Milanese have been named the Southern Conference men’s soccer offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, for all competition Sept. 28 to Oct. 4.
 
Pannholzer was instrumental for ETSU’s offense against Wofford, netting two second-half goals to help lead the Buccaneers to a 3-3 draw against the Terriers on Saturday. Pannholzer tallied his first goal in the match after connecting with Josh Salinas on the break to lace the ball past the Wofford keeper to even the match at 1-1 in the 57^th minute. Eight minutes after his first goal, the sophomore forward shot a header into the center of the goal, giving the Buccaneers a 3-2 advantage over Wofford in the 65^th minute. With his brace, Pannholzer moved his season goal total to seven, tying for the eighth-most in single-season program history. The Flensburg, Germany, native moved among the career goals and points leaders in ETSU history, with his 10 career goals tying for seventh and his 23 points ranking ninth.
 
Milanese contributed to the UNCG defense that notched its sixth and seventh clean with a pair of victories over Coastal Carolina and Mercer. The senior defender scored the game-winning goal in the 100th minute to defeat the Chanticleers, who entered the match ranked seventh in the Southeast Region, 1-0. The Molise, Italy, native was a key contributor on the backline in the Spartans’ 3-0 win over Mercer, marking the second SoCon match and third straight game overall in which UNCG has not allowed a goal.
 
ETSU (2-4-3, 0-1-2 SoCon) returns to competition on Tuesday, as the Buccaneers travel to Highland Heights, Kentucky, for a match against Northern Kentucky at 12 p.m. UNCG (8-2-1, 2-0-0) returns to action on Saturday, as the Spartans, who entered the College Soccer News Men’s Top 30 at No. 27 on Monday, travel to Greenville, South Carolina, for a conference match against Furman (2-6, 1-1 SoCon) at 7 p.m.
 
Also nominated for offensive player of the week: Liam O’Brien (Belmont), Jake Raine (Furman), Theo Quartey (UNCG) and Brandon Oddy (Wofford).
 
Also nominated for defensive player of the week: Case Cox (Belmont) and Broden Schull (VMI).
 
2021 SoCon Men’s Soccer Offensive Players of the Week
Aug. 31       Dylan Gaither, Sr., F, Mercer
Sept. 7        Niccolo Dagnoni, Sr., F, Belmont
Sept. 14      Liam O’Brien, Sr., F, Belmont
Sept. 21      Kadeem Agard, Fr., F, Mercer        
Sept. 28      Theo Collomb, So., F, UNCG
Oct. 5          Tarik Pannholzer, So., F/M, ETSU
 
2021 SoCon Men’s Soccer Defensive Players of the Week
Aug. 31       Brant Zulauf, R-So., GK, Mercer
Sept. 7        Drew Romig, Sr., GK, Belmont
Sept. 14     Joshua Old, Jr., GK, Wofford
Sept. 21     Trevor McMullen, So., GK, Mercer
Sept. 28      Emmanuel Hagan, Fr., D, UNCG
Oct. 5          Marco Milanese, Sr., D, UNCG