SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After clinching the SoCon regular-season title for the second consecutive year, UNCG claimed three individual awards and secured this year’s SoCon Player of the Year as midfielder JC Ngando took home the honor. ETSU's Cole Hunter and UNCG’s Niclas Wild shared the SoCon Goalkeeper of the Year honor due to a tie in the voting, while Wofford forward Nikolai Rojel came away with Freshman of the Year honors. UNCG’s Chris Rich was named the Coach of the Year for the second straight after leading the Spartans to the regular-season title for the third time in four years with their first undefeated SoCon record since 2004.
 
The league’s six coaches also named two all-conference teams and an all-freshman squad. This season’s all-conference first team includes 13 because of ties in the voting, while the all-conference second team and all-freshman team includes 11 student-athletes each. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players or themselves.
 
UNCG led all squads with 13 total selections earning postseason recognition, including five players on the all-conference first team. Wofford featured eight total selections, while ETSU and Mercer followed closely behind with seven and six selections, respectively. Furman rounded out the squads with one student-athlete represented.

Ngando, a first-team all-conference selection and the SoCon Freshman of the Year a season ago, helped lead UNCG to a 4-0-1 conference record as the Spartans finished the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the SoCon Championship. The Paris, France, native scored four goals and added a season-best 11 assists for a total of 19 points in his 16 starts for UNCG this year and is currently ranked third nationally in assists (11) and fourth in assists per game (0.69). Ngando earned SoCon Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 20 and Oct. 25 following his impressive performances in UNCG’s 0-0 draw against Southern Methodist on Sept. 15, their 2-0 win over Winthrop on Sept. 17 and the Spartans’ 1-0 victory over Mercer on Oct. 22.
 
Wild led the conference’s goalkeepers with 0.73 goals against average, while ranking third in the league in save percentage (.744). He tied for second in the conference in shutouts, with the junior goalkeeper tallying five following UNCG’s 1-0 conference win over Mercer on Oct. 22. The Berlin, Germany, native has 32 saves and has only allowed 11 goals on the season. Wild was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 20 and Oct. 25 following his performances against Southern Methodist and Winthrop in which he recorded a career-high eight saves against the Mustangs and posted a pair of shutouts, the 15th and 16th in his career, and against Mercer on Oct. 22, when he registered his fifth shutout of the season and 18th in his career, which moved him into third in school history in that category. Wild, who went 10-1-4 during the 2022 regular season, also added a first-team all-conference selection to his Goalkeeper of the Year honors.
 
ETSU’s Hunter also claimed Goalkeeper of the Year honors, ranking second in the conference in goals against average (0.77), and second in save percentage (.767). He ranked first in shutouts, with the sophomore goalkeeper registering seven following the Bucs’ 1-0 conference win over Furman on Oct. 22. The Mount Juliet, Tennessee, native led an ETSU side that finished 8-5-3 in the regular season and 3-1-1 in conference play to finish second in the regular-season standings. The redshirt senior goalkeeper was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 30 after recording a pair of shutouts against Longwood and Davidson on Aug. 25 and Aug. 28, respectively. Hunter finished the season with a 7-4-2 record and also earned a spot on the all-conference first team in addition to his Goalkeeper of the Year honors.

Rojel, who is also an all-freshman and All-SoCon first-team selection, recorded 18 points on eight goals and two assists with two game-winning goals to power Wofford to a 2-2-1 conference record as the Terriers finished the regular season fourth in head coach Joel Tyson’s fourth season in charge. The freshman forward's eight goals lead the squad this season and are tied for the second-most goals scored in the conference. Rojel earned SoCon Offensive Player of the Month honors for September after scoring 12 points on six goals and posting two multi-goal efforts in his seven appearances on the month. The Copenhagen, Denmark, native is the first Terrier to earn freshman of the year honors since Adrian Roseth in 2019.

UNCG’s Rich was tabbed the league’s coach of the year for the second consecutive year after the Spartans earned their ninth SoCon regular-season title. Rich led UNCG to a 11-1-4 overall record and a 4-0-1 conference record, and helped the Spartans earn seven appearances in the top-25 United Soccer Coaches national weekly rankings and 10 appearances in the South Region poll. Following the end of the regular season, the Spartans earned a No. 9 ranking in the most recent national poll and a No. 15 ranking in the latest RPI report, while also receiving a No. 10 ranking from TopDrawerSoccer and College Soccer News. UNCG leads the SoCon in 14 different categories, including assists per game, corner kicks per game, goal differential, points per game, scoring offense, shot accuracy, shots per game and team goals against average.

Spartan forward Ismail El Harchi and defenders Emmanuel Hagan and Marco Milanese join Ngando and Wild in representing UNCG on the all-conference first team. El Harchi leads the Spartans with eight goals and three assists with three game-winning goals to tie for second on the team in points with 19. The Santomera, Murcia, Spain, native was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week for two straight weeks on Oct. 4 and Oct. 11. Milanese had one goal and two assists for four points and secured SoCon Defensive Player of the Week honors on Nov. 1, while Hagan finished the season with three points on one goal and one assist.
 
Forwards Marco Afonso and Steven Hernandez helped guide the Spartans’ offense to their unbeaten record this season, as the senior and freshman both earned spots on second team following the conclusion of the regular season. Afonso tallied 14 points on four goals and six assists, while Hernandez recorded 11 points on five goals and one assist. Midfielder Basile Marc and defender Ethan Conley also earned second-team honors, with Marc ending the campaign with three points on three assists and Conley concluding the season with three points on one goal and one assist. Forward Colton Sessoms and Defenders Sami Lachekar and Maddox Mallery rounded out the UNCG players earning postseason honors, with the three Spartans joining Hernandez on the all-freshman team. 805-915-8166
 
Wofford had three players earn spots on first team, one secure a spot on the second team and four earn spots on the all-freshman team. Midfielder Jackson Wrobel and defender Paul Jones join Rojel on the first team, while defender Jakob Andersson earns a spot on the second team. Wrobel tallied 19 points on six goals and seven assists with one game-winning goal, while Jones notched two points on two assists for the Terriers this season. Andersson added six points on one goal and four assists for the 2022 season, while Rojel (forward), Nathan Childress (midfielder), Andersson (defender), and Zakaria Holmen (defender) were named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team.

ETSU had seven selections this season, with forwards Tarik Pannholzer and Kieran Richards and defender Henrik Guenther joining Hunter on the first team, midfielder Sebastian Reventlow-Mourier and defender Dominic Foster earning spots on the second team, and defender Jason Gun clinching a spot on the all-freshman team. Richards registered a SoCon-best 25 points on a league-leading 11 goals and three assists with two game-winning goals, while Pannholzer added 13 points on five goals and three assists with three game-winning goals for the Bucs this season. Guenther concluded the season with one point on one assist, while Reventlow-Mourier ended the season with four points on one goal and two assists and Foster finished the season with two points on two assists. The Bucs earned the No. 2 seed in the SoCon Championship.
 
Mercer had six selections this season, with midfielder Dylan Gaither representing the Bears on the first team, forward Kadeem Agard, midfielder Ousman Jabang, defender Sekou Agard and goalkeeper Trevor McMullen earning spots on the second team, and midfielder Fernando Arteaga representing Mercer on the all-freshman team. Gaither led the midfielders with 19 points and notched five goals and nine assists this season, while Kadeem Agard tallied 13 points on four goals and five assists, including a game-winner in the Bears’ second nonconference win of season on Sept. 25 against Virginia Tech. Sekou Agard registered three points on one goal and one assist and collected SoCon weekly honors on Sept. 27 after scoring his goal and assist in the Bears’ 3-2 victory over UAB on Sept. 20. McMullen concluded the campaign with a 5-2-5 record and tallied 38 saves, two shutouts and registered a .704 save percentage in his 12 appearances inside the net for Mercer this season. The Decatur, Georgia, native, was named SoCon Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 6 after helping the Bears to a 1-1 draw against NC State on Sept. 2 and a 3-2 win over Virginia Tech on Sept. 5. Arteaga concluded the campaign with six points on two goals and two assists after scoring his two goals in Mercer’s season-opening win over Winthrop on Aug. 25 and recording his two assists in the Bears’ victory over the Hokies on Sept. 5.
 
Defender Slade Starnes of Furman rounded out the all-freshman team. Starnes recorded four points on one goal and two assists during the 2022 campaign as Furman concluded the campaign with a 6-6-4 overall record and a 1-3-1 record in SoCon play.
 
No. 3 seed Mercer will play No. 6 seed VMI in the SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 4, at 3 p.m. in Johnson City, Tennessee, while No. 4 seed Wofford and No. 5 seed Furman play the same day at 4 p.m. in Greensboro, North Carolina. No. 1 seed UNCG will play the winner of No. 4 seed Wofford and No. 5 seed Furman and No. 2 seed ETSU will play the winner of No. 3 seed Mercer and No. 6 seed VMI. The semifinal matches will take place on Sunday, Nov. 6, with UNCG scheduled to host at 2 p.m. and the match at ETSU scheduled at 3 p.m.

The championship match will take place Saturday, Nov. 12, or Sunday, Nov. 13, at the highest remaining seed. The tournament winner earns the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship.
 
2022 Men’s Soccer All-Conference Team 
Player of the Year – JC Ngando, So., MF, UNCG 
Goalkeeper of the Year – Cole Hunter, R-Sr., ETSU / Niclas Wild, Jr., UNCG
Coach of the Year – Chris Rich, UNCG 
Freshman of the Year – Nikolai Rojel, F, Wofford
 
First Team 
F Tarik Pannholzer, ETSU 
F Kieran Richards, ETSU 
F Ismail El Harchi, UNCG
F Nikolai Rojel, Wofford
MF Dylan Gaither, Mercer 
MF JC Ngando, UNCG
MF Jackson Wrobel, Wofford
D Henrik Guenther, ETSU 
D Emmanuel Hagan, UNCG 
D Marco Milanese, UNCG 
D Paul Jones, Wofford
GK Cole Hunter, ETSU 
GK Niclas Wild, UNCG 
 
Second Team 
F Kadeem Agard, Mercer
F Marco Afonso, UNCG
F Steven Hernandez, UNCG
MF Sebastian Reventlow-Mourier, ETSU 
MF Ousman Jabang, Mercer
MF Basile Marc, UNCG
D Dominic Foster, ETSU 
D Sekou Agard, Mercer
D Ethan Conley, UNCG
D Jakob Andersson, Wofford
GK Trevor McMullen, Mercer
 
All-Freshman Team 
Jason Gun, D, ETSU
Slade Starnes, D, Furman
Fernando Arteaga, MF, Mercer 
Steven Hernandez, F, UNCG
Sami Lachekar, D, UNCG
Maddox Mallory, D, UNCG
Colton Sessoms, F, UNCG
Nikolai Rojel, F, Wofford
Nathan Childress, MF, Wofford
Jakob Andersson, D, Wofford
Zakaria Holmen, D, Wofford