UNCG men’s soccer team to host James Madison in NCAA first round

GREENSBORO, NC – The UNC Greensboro men’s soccer team will host James Madison on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this weekend at UNCG Soccer Stadium beginning at 3 pm.

UNCG enters the game with a 15-5 overall record. The Spartans were ranked No. 21 in College Soccer News, No. 22 in Soccer America and tied for No. 25 in Soccer Times polls releases last week.

James Madison owns a 12-6-2 overall record. The third-seeded Dukes lost in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Soccer Tournament to No. 2 seed Hofstra 3-2 last week. JMU is in the tournament for the first time since 2001 and the 12th time overall.

UNCG received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after freshman Henning Jonason scored a pair of first-half goals to lead the second-seeded Spartans to a 2-1 victory over No. 1 seed Davidson in Sunday’s championship game of the Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament. The win gave UNCG its second-ever tournament title in five appearance in the title game and its second-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.

This NCAA trip will be UNCG’s 16th all-time and seventh since the program’s elevation to Division I status in 1991. Last year, UNCG advanced the furthest it has since the move to Division I, appearing in the Round of 16. The Spartans’ dreams of a national title were halted in the third round with a 1-0 overtime loss to eventual runner-up UC Santa Barbara.

UNCG made seven trips to the Division III NCAA Tournament, where it won five national championships (1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987). In its brief two-year stint as a Division II member, UNCG reached the NCAA Tournament twice and made an appearance in the 1989 title game.

Head Coach Michael Parker collected his 450th win of his illustrious career on Sunday. In his 22 seasons at UNCG, he has compiled a 338-126-16 record as the coach of the Spartans. Overall, he is 450-154-23 in 30 seasons. This will be Parker’s 19th appearance as a coach in the NCAA Tournament. He has won six national titles, three at Lock Haven University (1977, 1978, 1980) and three at UNCG (1985, 1986, 1987).

The UNCG-JMU winner will visit No. 12 seed Virginia Tech on Tuesday, November 22 in Blacksburg, VA.

- UNCG -