September 24, 2010

Wake Forest (2-3-1) at UNCG (4-2-1), 7 p.m.
UNCG Soccer Stadium (Greensboro, N.C.)

Video: Spartan All Access
LiveStats: UNCGSpartans.com

+ The Spartans conclude their four-match homestand on Saturday night when Wake Forest  visits for Homecoming. The Spartans and Demon Deacons have met one other time on Homecoming, that coming back in 1999. Wake Forest won that match, 1-0, to hand UNCG one of four losses it has ever suffered on Homecoming.

+ The Spartans are 18-4-3 all-time on Homecoming. Last year, UNCG and Charlotte played to a 2-2 tie in a match shortened by torrential rain. The match was called with 15:12 remaining in regulation time. UNCG lost on Homecoming in 2007 (Akron) and 2008 (Brown). The last win on Homecoming came in 2006 when UNCG topped Elon, 3-1.

+ UNCG is unbeaten in its last seven matches at UNCG Soccer Stadium (6-0-1) during regular season action. (The North Carolina match this year was an exhibition). UNCG's last loss at home was to College of Charleston on Oct. 10, 2009.

+ UNCG is unbeaten in its last four matches, including impressive back-to-back wins - a 2-1 win over William & Mary and a 1-0 victory over Navy. The two wins knocked both teams from the ranks of the unbeaten and likely cost both a shot at the Top 25 this week. More impressively in the win over Navy, UNCG shut out a Navy team that had scored 13 goals in its first four matches – the most by the Mids to start a season since 1974. The two wins last week pushed the Spartans back into the NSCAA South Region rankings this week. UNCG is No. 8 in the region currently.

+ Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 11-7-2, and has dominated the series the last few years. UNCG's last win in the series came in 2004, a 2-1 win at Spry Stadium in Winston-Salem, to help the Spartans in their push to the No. 1 national ranking later that season. Since then, Wake Forest has won the last five meetings, outscoring the Spartans 20-0 in those five matches.

+ Wake Forest, ranked No. 19 in the NSCAA poll, has stumbled a bit as of late. Sandwiched around a big win at No. 2 Virginia last Saturday are losses to Charlotte and College of Charleston at home. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald has a 2-3-1 record on the season. Fitzgerald has posted a 1.29 goals against average on the year, allowing eight goals and making 22 saves in 560 minutes of action. Fitzgerald has one shutout in 2010.

+ The Deacs are coming off a 1-0 loss to the College of Charleston at home on Tuesday night. The Cougars got the only goal of the match in the 61st minute from Francis Twohig. The Demon Deacons attempted seven shots in the contest, but were unable to find the back of the net.

+ A surprising stat for the Spartans – UNCG entered the week 180th out of 201 teams nationally in save percentage (.619). Last year, Peyton Ford led the Southern Conference in saves with 92 and had a .793 save percentage.  However, part of that number is due to the fact that the Spartan backline is allowing fewer shots on goal this season. UNCG has allowed just 24 shots on goal in the first seven matches (3.4 per contest), as opposed to 151 in 19 matches last season (7.95 per match).

+ Seven of UNCG's nine goals this season have been scored by freshmen and sophomores. Matt Strine's tally against Navy was the first goal by an upperclassman this season.

+ Hakan Ilhan and Eli Garner lead the team in goals with two each. Ilhan (2g, 2a) leads in points with six. Seven different Spartans account for UNCG's nine goals this season.

+ Anthony Arena and Andy Lubahn lead the Wake Forest attack with a pair of goals each on the season.

+ UNCG will face High Point on the road Tuesday night. The match begins at 8 p.m. and will be televised locally on Estrella TV (TimeWarner Cable 131 / Digital Channel 20.3).