SoCon Pair Ranked In Week One Top Drawer Soccer Men's Top 25

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Two Southern Conference schools are ranked in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 this week, with Furman and UNC Greensboro off to strong starts.

The Paladins (1-0-1) are ranked No. 20, and the Spartans (2-0-0) are ranked No. 23, holding steady in their positions from the preseason poll – showcasing early national strength for the conference in men’s soccer. The entire poll is available here .

Furman is fresh off a scoreless draw with No. 9 San Diego in a match that saw a stout Paladins’ defense hold the Toreros without a shot on goal for 90 minutes. Furman picked up a win in the season opener, handling UC San Diego by a 3-0 score. Both results came in Durham, N.C.

Preseason All-SoCon forward Wilfer Bustamante tallied a pair of goals in the win, as the Paladins outshot the Tritons by a convincing 23-5 margin. All-SoCon midfielder Luke Hutzell scored the deciding goal at the 26:07 mark and assisted on Bustamante’s first goal (30:59). Diego Hernandez assisted on the first and third goals of the day.

The opening day win was the 350th for legendary head coach Doug Allison.

UNC Greensboro had its offense in high gear in two wins, rolling to a 6-2 decision over Radford on opening night and topping VCU by a 3-2 margin on Sunday to cap a terrific week at UNCG Soccer Stadium.

All-SoCon forward Enzo Dovlo scored early in the opener, putting his team up 2-0 after goals at the 7:54 and 12:41 marks. He added an assist on an Arnaud Tattevin goal at the 56:13 mark for a comfortable 5-2 lead.

Dovlo was even better on Sunday, scoring twice in the early going for a 2-0 lead. Both goals came within the first 10 minutes of the match. After VCU cut the lead to 2-1 early in the second half, Dovolo scored what proved to be the game-winner at the 69:34 mark – completing a hat trick in the process.

The Spartans held shooting advantages in both matches and put 13 of their 19 shots on goal against Radford.

Both teams will be back in action this week, with Furman hosting North Greenville on Thursday (August 28) and No. 15 Duke on Sunday (August 31). UNC Greensboro heads to the Sunshine State for matches at South Florida (August 28) and UCF (August 31).