SPARTANBURG, S.C. – UNCG forward Ismail El Harchi and Furman goalkeeper Ben Roberts have been named the Southern Conference men’s soccer offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, for all competition Oct. 4-10.
 
El Harchi netted two goals on the week as the Spartans went 2-0 with a pair of shutout wins over Elon and VMI. In the 2-0 win over the Phoenix on Wednesday, Oct. 5, El Harchi scored one goal, with the graduate intercepting an Elon pass in the 19th minute to make his way to the top of the arc where he drilled the ball into the back of the net for a 1-0 advantage. El Harchi tallied his second goal of the week on Saturday, netting the eventual game-winning goal as UNCG came away with a 1-0 victory over the Keydets. In the 19th minute of the contest, midfielder JC Ngando took an initial shot on net that was saved by the Keydets' Gabe Calhoun before the ball landed in front of El Harchi, who fired the ball into the back of the net for the tally. The Santomera, Murica, Spain, native registered his fourth goal in three games in the win over VMI, bringing his season total to six.
 
Last week, the Spartans received votes in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll and a No. 6 ranking in the South Region Poll. The Spartans also earned a No. 25 RPI ranking in the first RPI report of the 2022-23 campaign released on Monday and are currently ranked No. 21 in the College Soccer News Poll and No. 13 by Top Drawer Soccer.
 
Roberts played all 180 minutes in goal and recorded two shutouts in Furman's 0-0 draws against USC Upstate and Mercer this past week. In Tuesday’s tie against the Spartans, the senior faced 16 shots and tallied five saves in the shutout. On Saturday, Roberts faced eight shots and totaled three saves in the draw against the Bears. The Houston, Texas, native is now 5-2-3 on the season and has now registered five shutouts and 0.91 goals against average in his 10 starts this season for the Paladins.
 
UNCG (8-1-3, 2-0-0 SoCon) returns to competition on Tuesday, Oct. 11, as the Spartans travel to Clemson, South Carolina, for a nonconference match against No. 23 Clemson at 7 p.m. ET. Furman (5-3-3, 0-1-1) travels to Davidson, North Carolina, on Wednesday, Oct. 12, for a nonconference match against Davidson at 7 p.m.
 
Also nominated for offensive player of the week: Kieran Richards (ETSU).
 
Also nominated for defensive player of the week: Cole Hunter (ETSU), Trevor McMullen (Mercer), Sami Lachekar (UNCG) and Gabe Calhoun (VMI).
 
2022 SoCon Men’s Soccer Offensive Players of the Week
Aug. 30       Kieran Richards, Sr., F, ETSU
Sept. 6       Steven Hernandez, Fr., F, UNCG
Sept. 13      Marco Afonso, Gr., F, UNCG
Sept. 20      JC Ngando, So., MF, UNCG
Sept. 27      Alfredo-Diaz Santillan, Sr., MF, Furman
Oct. 4         Ismail El Harchi, Gr., F, UNCG
Oct. 11       Ismail El Harchi, Gr., F, UNCG
 
 
2022 SoCon Men’s Soccer Defensive Players of the Week
Aug. 30       Cole Hunter, R-Sr., GK, ETSU
Sept. 6        Trevor McMullen, Jr., GK, Mercer
Sept. 13      Ben Roberts, Sr., GK, Furman
Sept. 20      Niclas Wild, Jr., GK, UNCG
Sept. 27      Sekou Agard, So., D, Mercer
Oct. 4          Brant Zulauf, R-Jr., GK, Mercer
Oct. 11        Ben Roberts, Sr., GK, Furman