SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford midfielder Thaddeus Dennis and UNCG defender Ethan Conley have been named the Southern Conference men’s soccer offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, for all competition Oct. 11-17.
 
Dennis started for Wofford in its lone game last week as the Terriers defeated Furman, 2-0, on Saturday, Oct. 15. In the contest with the Paladins, the junior netted one goal and tallied one assist. Dennis recorded his assist in the 38th minute when he connected with a Jackson Wrobel corner kick before feeding the ball to Hugo Moldin for the first goal of the match. In the 42nd minute of the contest, Dennis received a pass from teammate Jakob Anderson and found the back of the net to hand Wofford a 2-0 lead at halftime. The Charleston, South Carolina, native, who finished with three points on the week, helped the Terriers clinch their first win over the Paladins since 2017.
 
Conley helped UNCG to a 1-0-1 record as the Spartans picked up a 2-1 win over No. 18 Clemson on Tuesday, Oct. 11, and played to a 1-1 draw against conference opponent ETSU on Saturday. The native of Wheaton, Illinois, recorded his first-career goal and game-winner in the Spartans' win over the Tigers on Tuesday, with the senior connecting on a Basile Marc cross into the 6-yard box in the 62^nd minute of the match to fire the ball under the crossbar and into the net for the eventual game-winning goal. Conley played a vital part on defense this week for the Spartans, who are now 1-0-1 against ACC teams, and has now appeared in 14 matches this season, including starts in the last two contests.
 
Last week, the Spartans received a No. 23 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll and a No. 4 ranking in the South Region Poll. The Spartans also earned a No. 25 ranking in the first RPI report of the 2022-23 campaign released on Monday, Oct. 10, and are currently ranked No. 19 in the College Soccer News Poll and No. 13 by Top Drawer Soccer.
 
Wofford (4-6-2, 1-1-1 SoCon) hits the road for its next two matches, as the Terriers travel to Winston Salem, North Carolina, on Tuesday, Oct. 18, for a nonconference match against No. 10 Wake Forest at 7 p.m. ET before the squad travels to Lexington, Virginia, on Saturday, Oct. 22, for a conference match against VMI at 1 p.m. ET. UNCG (9-1-4, 2-0-1) travels to Macon, Georgia, on Saturday for a conference match against Mercer at 7 p.m.
 
Also nominated for offensive player of the week: Kieran Richards (ETSU), Kadeem Agard (Mercer) and JC Ngando (UNCG).
 
Also nominated for defensive player of the week: Cole Hunter (ETSU), Trevor McMullen (Mercer) and Cameron Victor (Wofford).
 
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
Oct. 18       Thaddeus Dennis, Jr., MF, Wofford
 
 
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
Oct. 18        Ethan Conley, Sr., D, UNCG