UNC Greensboro made a strong run at the national championship in men’s soccer last fall, reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans were rewarded for that effort last week with a top-10 ranking in the preseason United Soccer Coaches poll, and the opening weeks of the 2023 schedule could determine if the voters made a good pick.
There are three exhibitions scheduled before UNCG gets to the regular season with a home opener against California on Aug. 24. The Spartans travel to Maryland the following Sunday, then come home for a Sept. 1 contest against Louisville.
While Cal struggled last season and won only three games, the Terrapins reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to Cornell 2-1. The Cardinals were upset by Virginia Tech 2-1 in the opening round of the ACC Tournament, then fell by the same score to Western Michigan in double overtime in the postseason.
People are also reading…
“We put a lot of effort into the schedule,” fourth-year Coach Chris Rich said. “Our goal is to be an at-large team. We don’t want to rely on winning a conference tournament, and we talked about that last year. “Winning conference tournaments is not easy, so our goal it to be an at-large team. In order to be an at-large, in order to have that sustained success, you have to put together a tough schedule.”
The Spartans finished last year with a 13-2-6 record. They won the Southern Conference championship and closed the year as the fifth-ranked team in the country. That was their best finish in the poll since they closed out 2004 at No. 9. Last week, the team was ranked 10th in the preseason poll, which was released last Tuesday.
Fourth-year coach Chris Rich and the No. 10 UNCG men's soccer team will play three exhibition games before the home opener against California on Aug. 24.
Last season’s success maintained Rich’s effort to bring UNCG men’s soccer to the prominence it enjoyed before his arrival. His plan now is for the team to develop a hunger for championships.
“I think that we have to be obsessed. We have to be obsessed with being successful,” he said. “And we’ve definitely preached that in our environment every single day. We’ve preached that in our recruiting process. I want obsessive people that are obsessed with the process of development and the process of winning.”
Either those obsessive players are among the 16 returning players, or the 10 freshmen and three transfers joining the program. Six of the freshmen got a head start on the fall by getting to campus for the summer. Five of his players are from North Carolina, a nod to Rich’s intent to add an at-home flavor to his roster.
“And I put a lot of pressure on the staff to identify, recruit and get the job done to get these North Carolina players,” he said. “I want them to be the foundation, and then we go out and recruit some transfers from the transfer portal. Then we go out and recruits some internationals. But the North Carolina players are the local guys. They need to be the foundation of the program.”
Three preseason games are scheduled, with the first two on the road. It begins with an exhibition at James Madison on Friday, followed by a trip to USC Upstate next Tuesday. Radford closes out the exhibitions with a game in Greensboro on Aug. 18. Rich said its all about the focus on success.
“If our mentality is right this season, we’re going to be very good,” Rich said. “Just like any team, if our mentality’s not there, or we’re thinking about the past or thinking about the future (and) we’re not focusing on the present, we’ll struggle ... “
