By Brandon Boyer, Staff Writer

Published in print Sept. 24, 2014

Men’s soccer took a big step in the right direction this week, as they battled against Virginia Tech and Georgia State. While both games ended in a loss for UNCG, each showed a tenacity that had been missing from the team in the early season.

Last week, Virginia Tech battled against UNCG on Tuesday amidst a not-so-welcoming torrent of rain. Following a two-hour delay due to lightning, UNCG and the Hokies kicked off just after 9.

With the conditions leading to a fast-paced pitch with patches of water-logged areas, the game was difficult for players but lead to a high octane output from both sides.

With forwards Hill Gwynn and Jacques Francois leading the way, UNCG were on the offensive as the team had a barrage of shots flying towards the Hokies goals. Yet, given the conditions and the Blue and Gold’s affinity to stumble in the final third, only six out of 17 shots made it on target.

The Hokies took the lead just after halftime, with Collin Verfurth sneaking in back post to head the ball in. This goal saw UNCG kick it into high gear, it was all for naught in the end. The difference in this match and the contests seen in the previous games played was the fight given by the hosts.

There was a genuine sense of purpose following the goal from the Hokies, rather than the slow-to-react temperament seen in games against the likes of Charlotte.

In their second match of the week, UNCG hosted Georgia State on Saturday. As the amber sky of the evening fell into darkness, a largely changed Spartans side controlled a sleepy affair for most of the first half, with the main chance of the match coming seven minutes in. Dustin Gamradt latched onto a long throw-in at the back post from Aaron Reifschneider and smashed his shot against the post, keeping the game scoreless.

The game emerged into a livelier affair in the second half as Georgia State opened the scoring in the 53rd minute. Forward Amiri Abraham looked dangerous in UNCG’s defensive third all match, but broke through put the visitors into the lead.

Again, as UNCG fell behind, they showed urgency going forward. After starting the game with a three forward formation Coach Justin Maullin reverted the Spartans back to a more traditional looking 4-4-2 formation, allowing for the hosts to flex a bit more in the midfield.

UNCG answered seven minutes after scoring had been opened, as a freekick slipped between the legs of several Panthers defenders to the foot of Dustin Gamradt, who tucked the ball home to tie the game. Gamradt’s second goal of the season was the first regular season goal for UNCG at home. Prior to the forward’s tally in the 60th minute, UNCG had gone 481 minutes without a goal at home, with the last goal at home being scored in preseason play back on August 23.

The majority of the Spartans attacking threat came from the 10 corner kicks they had in game. Yet, with delivery problems combined with Georgia State’s goalkeeper being a towering presence in the box, UNCG could do little with these chances in front of goal.

The game was put to bed in the 72nd minute, when Rashid Alarape found acres of space at the top of the box and coolly slotted home a slow roller past the outstretched fingertips of goalkeeper William Pyle.

As many of the normal starters rested for this game, UNCG did a nice job of trying to find their way back into the game after falling behind twice. Despite a brief flash point and shoving match between the two sides after Stephen McGill of the Panthers upended Freshman Moises Gonzalez in the 80th minute, the Spartans failed to come back into the game, with a flurry of chances failing to find a home in the back of the net.

Following the game, Coach Maullin hinted at a bit of disappointment in the proceedings, but seemed optimistic with the response from his side. “It seems like it takes us to go down a goal to start actually playing, but I thought, prior to that, we were actually looking pretty good,” said Coach Maullin.

The Spartans will take a week of rest and will open play back up on September 30 at Furman.