South Guilford News

University of North Carolina Athletics - Greensboro issued the following announcement on Aug. 17.

The UNC Greensboro women's soccer team enters the 2021 season with plenty of experience, talent, and motivation

The Spartans are excited for the challenges that lie ahead as they chase their championship goals. UNCG was picked fifth in the Southern Conference's preseason poll, an unusual prediction for a program accustomed to finishing near the top of the league standings.

UNCG will look to build off its strong finish from the spring where it won three of its final four matches and use it as a springboard to accomplish big things this season.

"We've been a top three team the last few years and hopefully we'll be there again this season," UNCG head women's soccer coach Michael Coll said. "That's where we want to be. We want to be first. There's so much experience returning. That's exciting. The players play a good style and brand of soccer, so it's entertaining. They missed being back at the top last year and they're hungry to get back there."

Defense

The Spartans have first-rate talent with returning All-SoCon Second Team defender Ashley Avelino, a senior anchoring a solid defensive unit. Junior Eliza Radoll, who scored a game-winning goal against Chattanooga last season, has been a rock on the backline the last two years for UNCG.

 Senior Kayla Campbell scored five goals two years ago and was named to the All-SoCon preseason team last season. Senior Grace Timbario is another tough two-way threat for the Spartans on the backline. Sophomore Parker Sikora performed like a season-veteran last season on defense.

 "Parker had a great freshman year in my opinion," Coll said. "She played beyond her years and didn't play like a first-year player. Our foundation of success this year will be goalkeeping, midfield and defense. Those are the strengths of our team."

Goalie

UNCG is fortunate in that it has one of the best goalies in the SoCon in senior Aiyanah Tyler-Cooper, who was second in the SoCon last season with an .872 save percentage. Tyler-Cooper was also second in shutouts and third in goals against average. She has 18 career shutouts, including four last season.

 "The biggest question mark is can we score goals," Coll said. "We didn't in the spring. We played 11 games and scored in six of them. We played two preseason games against App and Charlotte and didn't score. We've known since February that scoring goals is going to be a big challenge for us because we just haven't.

Offense/Midfield

The Spartans relied on a committee of contributors to score last season with Avelino, junior Maddy Gilhool, and sophomore Caroline Woods scoring two each to lead the Spartans. Senior Nicole Souply scored five goals during the 2019 season. Junior Rachel Rouse will also be a key contributor for the Spartans.

 UNCG's offense should receive a boost with the return of sophomore Gabi Santora, who earned a spot on the All-SoCon Freshman Team in 2019 after scoring three goals and recording five assists. Freshman Nadia Wilson is another player returning from an injury that should help the Spartan offense.  

 "Gabi and Nadia can score and be dangerous on the attacking front," Coll said. "They weren't available at all in the spring. The fact that those two are back gives us an extra dimension. It's always important in soccer to have goal scoring from different people for sure. We don't know where they are going come from. We just hope they come and just don't know from where."

 In the past, the Spartans normally knew where the goals were coming from.

 "There's been lots of big-time goal scorers here, most recently Cienna Rideout," Coll said. "Always had big time goal scorers and right now we don't. We're going to have to rely on goal scoring by committee and that's OK. We have players who can do it.

Schedule

UNCG will be tested by a tough non-conference slate that includes matches against High Point, Elon, North Carolina State, Campbell, and James Madison. Elon, Campbell, and Furman competed in the NCAA Tournament, a place the Spartans are looking to return to for the first time since 2018.

The Spartans begin their pursuit of a SoCon title with a difficult road trip to Chattanooga and Samford.

 "We are going to have to earn any victory in the nonconference because it's been designed to challenge us to be ready for the SoCon games," Coll said. "I won't know what we're going to be until the fifth or sixth game of the season."

Original source can be found here.