October 29, 2010

UNCG (8-5-3, 3-1-2=11 pts) at Furman (7-5-4, 3-0-2=11 pts.) , 7 p.m.

Video: FurmanPaladins.com (purchase required)
LiveStats: UNCGSpartans.com

+ The Spartans close out SoCon regular season play on Saturday night when they travel to Furman. The Paladins are the last remaining unbeaten team in SoCon play – but sit tied with the Spartans for third place in the league standings at 11 points. Furman still faces Wofford next Tuesday in the final league match of the regular season.

+ Depending on the outcome of Saturday afternoon's match between College of Charleston and Appalachian State, the winner of Saturday night's match could claim at least a share of the SoCon regular season title. If College of Charleston and Appalachian State tie on Saturday, the winner of the UNCG-Furman match would get at least a share of the title. If Furman wins, it could claim the title outright the following Tuesday with a win or tie against Wofford. If UNCG wins, it would share the title with College of Charleston and possibly Furman. If Appalachian State and Furman both win, Furman could still claim the title outright with a win next Tuesday or a share of it with a tie against Wofford.  

+ At stake through it all on Saturday is home field in the quarterfinal round next weekend, as well. Throwing Elon into the mix, five teams are separated by three points entering the weekend with the top four teams earning home field in the quarterfinals.

+ Saturday's match marks the 23rd all-time meeting between the Paladins and Spartans with Furman holding a 12-9-1 series edge.  UNCG, however, has won the last two meetings, including a 2-1 victory in Greensboro, N.C., last season. It is only fitting, though, that two teams should meet with so much at stake on Saturday. Since UNCG joined the league in 1997, Furman and UNCG have combined to win 10 regular season (including one shared title together in 1998) and nine conference tournament titles in the 13-year span.  They are the two winningest schools in conference history, with UNCG winning nearly 76 percent of its league matches and Furman winning 72 percent all-time.

+ Fabien Vorbe leads the Paladins in scoring this year with four goals for eight points. Furman hasn't been a strong offensive team this year, scoring just 15 goals in 16 matches. Brooks Duff has scored two of Furman's five goals in league play, both of them coming in a 2-1 win at Georgia Southern back on Sept. 29. Furman's goalkeeper is Alec Kann, who enters Saturday with a 0.86 GAA and 49 saves in 1464 minutes of action. He had allowed just one goal in last six matches before giving up two in a 4-0 loss at Duke on Tuesday night.

+ Whereas Furman has struggled to score and won with defense, UNCG has been an offensive juggernaut lately.  UNCG has 30 goals in 16 matches this season – 17 of those coming in the last six matches. Since an eight-day layoff that coach Justin Maullin thought was very important for his team to get its legs back, the Spartans have outscored their opposition, 17-6 in those six matches, going 4-0-2 in that span.

+ Sophomore Hakan Ilhan leads the Spartans in scoring with 20 points (7g, 6a). He is the first Spartan to surpass the 20-point mark since Thomas Campbell's 29 points in 2007. Freshman Brian Graham's huge week last week moved him up to 15 points on the year (6g, 3a). Sophomore Peyton Ford is UNCG's goalkeeper, logging a 1.26 GAA and .727 save percentage in 1502 minutes of action. In the six-game unbeaten streak, Ford has a 0.96 GAA and a .793 save percentage.

+ The Spartans travel to Longwood to close out the regular season next Tuesday night. Game time is set for 7 p.m. If the Spartans host a SoCon Tournament quarterfinal round match, it would be Saturday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.