By Brandon Boyer, Staff Writer

Published in print Sept. 17, 2014

A Tuesday night match with nationally ranked UNC-Charlotte saw UNCG’s season slip further from their grasp, falling to the final score of 2-0.

In one of two major home games on the docket for UNCG in less than a week, the game against the 49ers was not a pretty affair, no matter how you spun it. UNCG stumbled out of the gate with a penalty kick called against them, after a clumsy tackle went in on midfielder, Brandt Bronico. Kyle Parker of the 49ers took care of penalty kick duties, scoring to give the 49ers a 1-0 lead merely five minutes into the game.

After being such an attacking team in their opponents’ half early this season, UNCG was held to just three shots in the first half against Charlotte, as both teams felt each other out in a terse and tense affair. The best shot of the half for UNCG came from Hugo Coicaud, who cranked a volley at the 49ers goal which was saved by Austin Pack, the goalkeeper for Charlotte.

Offensively, UNCG confidently pressed Charlotte deep into their own half at many points in the first half, but failed to make much of their runs forward.

The second half is where the little jabs and late tackles of the first half turned the game up to a boiling point. Minutes into the second half, Nicholas Downs was sent off for a late challenge on Dominic Bonilla, his second yellow card of the match, putting UNCG down to 10-men for the rest of the match. Despite being down a man, UNCG did well controlling possession and holding the fort in their own half, withstanding sustained pressure and fluid attacks from the 49ers.

As challenge after challenge came in, Charlotte finally snapped, with Mark Sloan of the 49ers laying a heavy challenge into Lukas Zarges, causing both teams to clash in the middle of the park with words and shoves exchanged. Sloan was sent off for the challenge and both sides finished the last quarter of an hour of the game with 10-a-side.

At the end of the night, Coach Justin Maullin seemed largely happy with how his team played and the fight they gave, despite the score line. “I was really proud of the way we came back, the way we fought, the effort…”said Maullin. “Overall, it’s a loss, but I can take it whenever my players give me everything they’ve got.”

Saturday night, UNCG went on the road to face Longwood University. The Lancers hit UNCG with a quick one-two salvo of goals, as Vaughn Fowler and Mike Durr sent the hosts into the lead and into halftime with a 2-0 lead.

UNCG battled back successfully in the second half with goals from freshman Moises Gonzalez and junior Dustin Gamaradt to tie it up. Gonzalez’s penalty kick conversion in the 53rd minute was the first goal of his career for the Spartans.

The game finished tied as both sides  ended with two goals each. The draw was the first points of the campaign for UNCG, following four straight losses giving the Spartans a record of 0-4-1 after five games this season.

UNCG seem to have the right tools to be able to do the job properly and have more than enough talent on their roster, but cannot seem to put it together when it counts the most.

Since ending their preseason with a 8-0 victory, UNCG has been toothless in the final third, with many crosses lazily floating up and over any sort of attacking threat in the box and passes failing to find the feet of a fellow Spartan in front of goal. It is endlessly frustrating to watch some of the most talented players the school has had in quite some time just fail to put it together when it matters most.

Early in the season, there are still 13 games to play, so you cannot quite write them off yet. But, with conference play beginning in three weeks, UNCG needs to put it together sooner, rather than later if they want to get anything positive from this campaign.