Brandon Vestri, Senior Staff Writer 

UNCG vs West Virginia 

In a challenging test on Sept. 17, our Spartans traveled to Morgantown, West Virginia, to face off against the 5th-ranked Mountaineers. In an unexpected outcome, the match ended in a 2-2 draw.  

Drama unfolded on both sides of the field in the first ten minutes. The favored Mountaineers were the first to strike, with Marcus Caldeira scoring at 04:48, assisted by Isaac Scheer. Despite being down 0-1 within five minutes, our UNCG Spartans didn’t waver. They swiftly responded, and in the 6^th minute, forward Arnaud Tattevin equalized with an assist from midfielder Yoshiya Okawa. 

The rest of the half was dominated by West Virginia’s Mountaineers. A foul in the box by the Spartans led to a converted penalty kick from Sergio Ors Navarro in the 23^rd minute, putting the Mountaineers ahead 2-1. During the first half, 14 total shots were taken, with 11 coming from WVU and 3 from UNCG. 

For the Spartans, halftime proved pivotal. They returned to the field and equalized in the 59^th minute through forward Mikey Ketteman. For the rest of the game, aggression increased, and physicality became a major factor. Despite several close attempts, neither team managed to find the back of the net again. In total, the Mountaineers received two yellow cards, while UNCG Spartans racked up a total of four. In the second half, the Spartans attempted 4 shots while WVU had 5. The Spartans’ valiant effort against a higher ranked team turned heads, marking them as a team to watch. 

UNCG vs HPU  

With a packed crowd and threatening weather, UNCG faced off against neighboring High Point University on Tuesday, Sept. 24. HPU started strong during the match with early attempts at the net. In the 9^th minute, High Point’s forward Frankie DeFrancesco was able to best UNCG’s goalkeeper with impressive athleticism. 

The 1-0 scoreline would remain constant throughout the remainder of the match. In the 32^nd minute, with lightning in the area, officials declared a weather delay. Unfortunately, our Spartans were unable to give a response to HPU’s goal because, after intense downpour and continued lightning, the match was officially postponed to a later date. Currently, no date has been set for the rematch, and it will linger on UNCG’s intense schedule for the remainder of the season. On September 30^th, our Spartans traveled to Charlottesville to face off against Virginia. Tune in next week for that recap!