SPARTANBURG, S.C. – UNCG’s Theo Collomb and Furman’s Ben Hale have been named the Southern Conference men’s soccer offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, for all competition from March 23-29.
 
Collomb scored two goals, which included the Spartans’ overtime game-winning goal against Belmont on Saturday, and dished an assist for a total of five points on the week. Against VMI on Tuesday, Collomb scored in the 74^th minute of the 4-0 shutout win. With only 1:11 left in the first overtime period against the Bruins, the freshman from Clermont, France, headed home a cross from Daniel Mangarov to give UNCG a 3-2 comeback victory in Greensboro, North Carolina, placing the team at a three-way tie with Belmont and ETSU for second place in the conference standings. Collomb is one of six SoCon players this season to have scored five goals.
 
UNCG (6-2-1, 2-1-1 SoCon) travels to Spartanburg, South Carolina, on Tuesday to play Wofford (0-6-0, 0-3-0) at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. The Spartans conclude the regular season on Saturday, April 3, versus ETSU (2-4-2, 2-1-1) for a chance to secure a spot in the 2020-21 SoCon tournament. 
 
Hale played 180 scoreless minutes in goal and stopped 13 shots to help conference leader Furman to a pair of shutouts this past week. The Frisco, Texas, native recorded a career-high 10 saves, including several point-blank stops, in a 1-0 double-overtime victory over Mercer on Tuesday. He followed the clean sheet with 73 minutes of shutout action and three stops in a 6-0 win over VMI on Friday. Hale, a redshirt senior, leads the conference with three shutouts and is second with an .824 save percentage.
 
Furman (6-1-0, 4-0-0 SoCon), who is ranked 24^th by Top Drawer Soccer, is set to compete for the SoCon regular-season title on Tuesday at 6 p.m. against Belmont (5-1-2, 2-1-1) on ESPN+. The Paladins’ postponed game against Wofford has been rescheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. and will mark the end of their regular season. 
 
Other offensive nominees: Kyle Barks (Belmont), Shaun-Chris Joash (Furman) and Dylan Gaither (Mercer).
 
Other defensive nominees: Drew Romig (Belmont), Josh Perryman (ETSU), JR DeRose (Mercer) and Niclas Wild (UNCG). 
 
2021 Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Players of the Week
 
Offense
Feb. 16    Dawson Gideon, Jr., F, Mercer
Feb. 23    AJ Chastonay, Fr., MF, Belmont
March 2   Shaun-Chris Joash, So., F, Furman
March 9   Mani Austmann, So., F, UNCG
March 16 Jake Raine, Fr., F, Furman
March 23  Cole McLagan, R-Sr., D, Furman
March 30  Theo Collomb, Fr., F, UNCG


Defense
Feb. 16    JR DeRose, R-Sr., GK, Mercer
Feb. 23    Brant Zulauf, R-Fr., GK, Mercer
March 2   Cameron Petty, So., GK, Belmont
March 9   Myson Darden, So., D, UNCG
March 16 Drew Romig, Sr., GK, Belmont
March 23  Josh Perryman, R-Jr., GK, ETSU
March 30  Ben Hale, R-Sr., GK, Furman