LEXINGTON, Va. – With just three matches remaining in the regular season, VMI Men's Soccer will host a trio of teams, starting with UNC Greensboro on Saturday at Patchin Field. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m.
The Keydets (5-7-2, 0-3-0 SoCon) have a strong 5-1 record when playing on home turf, but the Spartans (8-2-4, 1-1-1) have their sight set on earning a first-round bye in the upcoming Southern Conference Championship. At this point, UNCG is a three-seed while VMI holds the six-seed, potentially being a tournament-opening matchup.
Keys to the Keydets
Keydets Fall to Furman. Despite the 4-1 score, VMI picked up their first SoCon goal against Furman.
Career-High Night. Zack Murphy earned a career-high 14 saves against Furman, facing 31 shots.
Home Stretch. VMI will end its season with five of its last six matches at Patchin Field.
1, 2, 3 in History. Alexei Royar,
Cole Mooney, and
Drew Menges rank top three in program history in minutes played by a non-goalie.
Home Sweet Home. VMI has started 4-0 at home for the first time ever and is currently 5-1 at Patchin Field. The four-straight home wins is the longest such streak since 1994.
Home Goal Differential. The Keydets have outscored their opponents, 22-6, when playing on Patchin Field this season.
Martin the Martian. Grant Martin leads the team with six goals and 14 points. He leads the conference in goals and is second in points.
No Days Off. Only three Keydets have played in all 14 matches: Martin,
Woongchan Oh, and Royar.
Leading the League. The Keydets lead all SoCon teams in total goals, assists, shots, and shots on target along with saves per game.
Big Shots. Mooney has produced a conference-leading 32 shots while
Anthony Huang has tallied 31 shots.
Top 50 in the Country. VMI ranks seventh in saves per game, 15th in shots per game, 37th in assists, 43rd in points, 44th in goals, and 46th in assists per game.
Murphy Minutes. Murphy has played in over 1,100 minutes and has recorded 71 saves between the posts with a clean sheet and two shared shutouts.
Life Saver. Murphy ranks fourth in saves per game with nearly five and a half while standing third in total saves with 71. Both stats rank first in the conference.
Scouting the Spartans
- UNC Greensboro opens the weekend with an 8-2-4 record, going 1-1-1 in conference play.
- Spartans have picked up results against nationally-ranked opponents of No. 19 Charlotte and No. 5 West Virginia along with defeating Furman for the lone conference victory.
- UNCG was ranked as high as 21st in the United Soccer Coaches poll and received votes in the latest rankings.
- Spartans have produced 26 goals off 158 shots with 73 on target along with 19 assists.
- UNCG has allowed just 12 goals and 56 shots on target, tallying a goal differential of 12 which stands 31st in the country.
- Yoshiya Okawa and Arnaud Tattevin stand atop the team with six goals.
- Okawa and Enzo Dovlo lead the Spartans with three assists.
- Okawa also leads the program with 15 points.
- Seth Wilson has accumulated 33 saves and has allowed just seven goals, earning 0.70 goals against average and 82.5 save percentage that each rank 11th in the nation.
- UNCG has allowed at least one goal in the past three matches.
Series History
- VMI is 1-23 against UNCG.
- First matchup was in 1987 when the Keydets won, 3-0.
- Last matchup ended in a 6-2 win for the Spartans in Greensboro.
- This will be the 10th meeting in Lexington, Virginia.
For more information, visit VMIKeydets.com or follow us on social media at VMI Athletics.
