BUENA VISTA, Va. – After dropping their first USA South conference game, the Southern Virginia University men's soccer team looks to bounce back when they play Greensboro College Wednesday, with kickoff set for 4 p.m.
The Pride are 2-5-4 overall but have not lost a game in their last four contests while only giving up one goal during the stretch, catching their stride at an opportune time, just before commencing conference play.
"Our guys just continue to fight," declared Greensboro head coach Manbi Nyepon after a victory over sixth-ranked National Christian College Athletic Association opponent Carolina University last week. "I have been saying the last few weeks that this team is connecting at the right time. We have a lot of new faces, and it takes time to grow as a unit. Every member of the coaching staff and the players are so excited about conference play."
Last year, in the first matchup between the schools as conference foes, the Pride came away with a 2-0 victory. The teams met four times prior to Southern Virginia joining the USA South, with Greensboro having yet to fall to the Knights.
The team executed their defensive game plan in the conference opener Saturday, but were unable to generate enough attacking opportunities to challenge the opposing defense.
Southern Virginia will be playing against the reigning conference defensive player of the week in goalkeeper Cristian Del Cid Portillo who received the honor after making eight saves and posting a shutout against Carolina University.
The Pride sit just behind the Knights in total saves with 49 overall, 29 of those being made by Del Cid Portillo. Southern Virginia goalkeepers have made 64 stops, mostly split between
Dallin Chappell and
Sean Gutzman who are third and fourth in the conference respectively.
Gutzman, who had an outstanding game Saturday, will look to continue to limit opposing teams scoring while also playing out of the back to start the Southern Virginia attack.
Speaking of the Knights offense, head coach
Payden Pemberton said "we have the quality to score goals and I am confident that ability will start to shine through."
For all the most up-to-date information regarding Southern Virginia University men's soccer, please visit knightathletics.com and follow @knightmsoccer on Instagram.
