LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Men's Soccer opens the Southern Conference Championship on Friday at 7 p.m. against nationally-ranked UNC Greensboro at Betts Stadium in Macon, Georgia.
The sixth-seeded Keydets (3-11-3, 1-4-0) look to build on their historic victory last weekend in the first round of the league tournament against the three-seeded Spartans, who landed at No. 20 on the United Soccer Coaches Poll.
Keys to the Keydets
Keydets End Drought, Snap 23-Year Skid. It took 23 seasons, but VMI has won a SoCon match after defeating ETSU, 2-1, in the regular season finale.
Breaking Conference Drought. With their historic win over the Bucs, the Keydets have earned their first league win since 2013 (Big South) and their first SoCon victory since 2002, a total of 87-straight SoCon matches.
SoCon Defensive Player of the Week. After helping the Keydets win their first SoCon match, freshman defender
Jack Yough was named SoCon Defensive Player of the Week. Yough scored his team-leading third goal in VMI's historic 2-1 victory. Yough played all 90 minutes in the win and held the Bucs scoreless for the first 87 minutes on the back line.
Conceding Less. VMI conceded 10 SoCon goals during the regular season, the fewest since 1982.
Need a Save? Zack Murphy has been electric this season, boasting a league-leading 78 saves and five saves per game. He corralled a season-high nine saves against Mercer. Murphy's 10 conference goals allowed is the third fewest in the league.
Step up, Freshman. In just his third start and sixth match played,
Ricky Perez stepped up in a big way against ETSU, scoring the first conference goal of 2025 and putting the Keydets ahead in the first half.
No Days Off. Four Keydets played in all 17 regular-season matches:
Thimson Duolo,
Jack Yough,
Timofey Dovgalyuk, and
Jordan Savage. Dovgalyuk is the only Keydet to have started in all matches.
Racking Minutes. Zack Murphy has played nearly 1,400 goalie minutes this year, ranking 70th nationally, which brings his career total to 4,452, which ranks third all-time at VMI.
Record Book Riser. Zack Murphy has been rising in the record books all season. Along with his minutes played total reaching third, his career saves mark of 230 and 2.24 goals against average rank in the top five all-time.
Yough Gotta Believe It. Jack Yough has been a consistent defender for the Keydets, playing nearly 1,400 minutes as a freshman. His minutes total mark ranks fifth in the conference by non-goalies.
Shot Taker. Thimson Duolo ranks in the top 10 in the SoCon with 26 shots and third with 15 shots on goal.
Top 25. VMI ranks 12th nationally with five saves per game. Helping the Keydets reach that mark is
Zack Murphy, who ranks eighth with 78 saves and 14th with nearly five saves per game.
Dishing It Out. Jesse Lee has tallied a team-leading four assists this season, along with a second-best five points. His four assists rank seventh in the league.
Scouting the Spartans
- UNCG was 10-3-4 during the regular season and finished third in the conference standings with a 3-2 record.
- The Spartans are ranked No. 20 by the United Soccer Coaches.
- UNCG defeated two-seeded Mercer in the season finale, 3-0.
- The Spartans drew results against No. 9 Virginia and No. 3 NC State, along with a victory over No. 5 High Point.
- UNCG ranks in the top 25 nationally in points, goals, and scoring offense.
- The Spartans have taken the most shots among SoCon teams with 242, along with standing atop the rest with 89 corner kicks.
- UNCG's goalies have the lowest save total and margin in the league with 41 saves and 2.41 saves per game, but have the second-lowest goals allowed average (1.12) and second-most clean sheets (5).
- Enzo Dovlo is first in the league with 24 points and nine goals to pair nicely with six assists and three game-winning goals. Dovlo also leads the league with 28 shots on target and 56 shots.
- Seth Wilson has been key in between the posts, boasting the most goalie minutes in the SoCon with 1,530, and has allowed the second-fewest goals among starting goalies.
- Head Coach Chris Rich is in his seventh season at the helm, leading the Spartans to four SoCon regular season titles and two tournament crowns.
Series History
- VMI is 1-24 all-time against UNCG.
- First meeting was in 1987, ending in a 3-0 home victory for the Keydets.
- Last season, the Spartans, who were receiving votes in the national poll, took down the Keydets, 1-0, in Lexington.
- In the matchup this season, UNCG narrowly defeated VMI, 2-0, as the nation's No. 23 team.
For more information, visit VMIKeydets.com or follow us on social media at VMI Athletics.
