SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Mercer forward Michael Ille 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 Oct. 25-31. The weekly award is the final one of the season.  
 
Ille registered Mercer's first hat trick of the season to finish with six points on the week as Mercer went 1-0 with a 3-2 conference victory over ETSU on Saturday, Oct. 29 to conclude the regular season. The graduate got the scoring started for the Bears, netting a goal off a pass from Ousman Jabang just four minutes into the match before taking a feed from Dylan Gaither in the 14th minute, just 10 minutes later, to fire a left-footed shot into the net to hand the Bears a 2-0 advantage. After the Bucs notched a goal to bring the score to 2-1 before halftime, Ille answered with his third goal of the match in the 62nd minute after connecting with a Dylan Gaither and Kadeem Agard centering feed to place the shot into the back of the net for the 3-1 lead and eventual conference win. The Lawrenceville, Georgia, native leads the team in goals (6) and is second on the squad in points (14).
 
Milanese anchored a UNCG defense that held Wofford to just one goal in a 2-1 win to end the regular season Saturday, clinching the regular-season title for the Spartans. The fifth-year senior from Isernia, Italy, was part of a defensive unit that allowed just three shots by the Terriers, just one of which was on goal.
 
Last week, the Spartans received a No. 11 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll and a No. 3 ranking in the South Region Poll. The Spartans also earned a No. 15 ranking in the fourth RPI report of the 2022-23 campaign released on Monday, Oct. 31, and are currently ranked No. 10 in the College Soccer News Poll and No. 10 by Top Drawer Soccer.
 
UNCG (11-1-4) enters the SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship as the No. 1 seed after finishing the SoCon slate with a 4-0-1 mark and take the field in the semifinals on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Spartans will host either No. 4 seed Wofford (6-8-2, 2-2-1 SoCon) or No. 5 seed Furman (6-6-4, 1-3-1), who meet Friday in Greensboro, North Carolina, at 4 p.m. Mercer (6-4-6, 2-1-2 SoCon) earned the No. 3 seed in the Men’s Soccer Championship and will face No. 6 VMI (2-13-1, 0-5-0) in Johnson City, Tennessee on Friday, Nov. 4 at 3 p.m. ET.
 
Also nominated for offensive player of the week: Lucas Lightner (ETSU), Maycol Reyes (UNCG) and Nikolai Rojel (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
Oct. 25       JC Ngando, So., MF, UNCG
Nov. 1         Michael Ille, Gr., F, Mercer
 
 
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
Oct. 25        Niclas Wild, Jr., GK, UNCG
Nov. 1         Marco Milanese, 5^th, D, UNCG