EVANS, Ga. – The 17th-ranked University of North Georgia women’s soccer team scored two goals in the opening 10 minutes in Friday’s Peach Belt Conference Tournament semifinal and never looked back, defeated No. 2-seed UNC Pembroke, 4-0, at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans. The Nighthawks advance to 14-1-3 on the year with the victory and advance to Sunday’s PBC Championship game against No. 1-seed and regular season champion, Columbus State.

Sophia Matonak got the scoring party started for UNG in the seventh minute after Michaela Sundstrom found her at the top of the box with Matonak’s kick trickling off the hands of the UNCP goalkeeper.

The Nighthawks struck again less than a minute later as Rachel VanHorn put the ball in the far corner of the goal to give North Georgia a 2-0 advantage. The forward from Marietta found the back of the net again in the 21st on a cross in from Megan Gil to give UNG the 3-0 lead that it took into halftime.

Matonak provided the final goal of the night in the 47th with a blast from outside the box into the upper 90 giving the Nighthawks the 4-0 lead that proved final.

NOTES
– With her two goals tonight Rachel VanHorn tied and then broke the school record for goals in a single season with 19 now on the year, besting the previous high of 18 held by both Cicely Taliaferro (2014) and Kelly Penston (2013).

– UNG outshot the Braves 14-9 on the night with a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal.

– The Nighthawks move to 4-6-3 in the all-time series against UNCP, though since 2013, North Georgia holds a 2-0-3 advantage in the series.

– The 4-0 deficit was the largest margin of defeat for UNC Pembroke this season.

NEXT UP
The Nighthawks will face Columbus State in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship at 3:30 p.m., on Sunday. It is the third straight year that the two teams have meet in the PBC title match with the Cougars squeaking by with one-goal wins in both contests.

Men’s Soccer Comeback Effort Falls Just Short in PBC Semifinal

EVANS, Ga. – The University of North Georgia men’s soccer team proved resilient until the end in Friday’s Peach Belt Conference Tournament semifinal against rival-Young Harris, rallying back from a three-goal deficit but ultimately falling, 4-3, to the Mountain Lions. The loss ends the Nighthawks season at 10-10.

After 30 relatively quiet minutes of play, YHC got on the board first in the 31st minute with a goal from Ramin Vanhorn. Sam Jones added to the Mountain Lion lead just five minutes later to give Young Harris a 2-0 advantage that they would take to the half.

Marco Micaletto extended the Mountain Lion advantage to 3-0 in the 56th on a give-and-go pass from 25-feet out. North Georgia got on the board in the 61st minute as Ivan Acimovic found Eddie Hurst who provided a great through ball to Matt Shaftoe to close the match to 3-1. It would take just 48 seconds however for Young Harris to get the goal back as Carlos Gomez scored what would end up being the game-winner in the 63rd minute.

Hurst picked up another assist in the 76th as he found William Pettersson for a goal to bring the match back within two. Hurst then found the back of the net on his own in the 84th minute finishing a through ball from Michael Akin.

The Young Harris defense stepped up in the final six minutes though, not allowing another Nighthawk shot in the match resulting in the 4-3 final.

Although UNG is eligible for at-large selection to the NCAA Division II Tournament, the Nighthawks are currently not ranked in the top 10 in the Southeast Region making selection in the tournament unlikely.