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UNG releases 2022 women’s soccer schedule

Business August 15, 2022 , by

DAHLONEGA – The University of North Georgia women’s soccer team has released its schedule for the 2022 season. The season slate features five programs that received NCAA Tournament bids last season and a road matchup against a newly added member of the Peach Belt Conference.

Faced with a challenging schedule this season, head coach Kayley Ralton believes that the competition will strengthen her team and prepare them for future challenges.

“I truly believe for our players to reach their full potential they need to be challenged as often as possible. By playing the top teams we will learn to face different challenges in every game, ultimately that will make us stronger and much more prepared.”

The Nighthawks open the season with six consecutive home games. The home opener will be against former Peach Belt Conference member UNC Pembroke. UNC Pembroke went 15-5 in their first season as a member of the Conference of Carolinas and received a bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the conference championship. UNG has won the last two meetings between the schools and owns a record of 5-2-1 at home versus the Braves.

UNG’s next two fixtures feature two South Carolina squads when they host Anderson on August 27th for Alumni Day, then North Greenville on the following Wednesday, August 31st, for the second matchup between the two programs all time.

North Georgia has won all eight games versus Anderson, most recently in the 2019 season.

UNG began their series last season against North Greenville when the Nighthawks came away with the road victory 1-0 over the Crusaders.

The Nighthawks will then have one more contest before beginning conference play when they face their second 2021 NCAA Tournament participant of the season in Lee on September 4th for Cancer Awareness Day.

Lee earned the top seed in the South region last season after going 16-0 in the regular season and winning the Gulf South Conference Championship. The programs have played four times, twice in the 2004 season and most recently in 2018.

North Georgia will then move on to Peach Belt Conference play by hosting Georgia Southwestern on September 10th for Military Appreciation Night before renewing their Battle of Blood Mountain Rivalry on September 14th against Young Harris.

The Nighthawks are a combined 29-1 against the two programs, suffering the lone loss on the road at Young Harris in the 2017 season.

A PBC road fixture at 2021 NCAA Tournament selection, Flagler College, followed by the first road non-conference game of the season against Emmanuel College, precede a two-game homestand versus Clayton State on September 24th and Lander University on September 28th for Youth Soccer Night.

UNG owns a 10-4-2 record versus Clayton State since 2010 and has hosted just three matchups since 2012.

North Georgia has dominated the series versus Lander since 2015 winning six of the last seven games. Lander posted a record of 11-5-1 last season and finished second in the Peach Belt Conference regular season standings.

UNG will head on the road for their debut in Bluffton, S.C. for a battle against the newest addition to the Peach Belt Conference, USC Beaufort. This will be the first ever matchup between the two programs.

The Nighthawks will face Albany State on the road before returning to Lynn Cottrell Park for Senior Night and UNG’s regular-season finale versus USC Aiken on October 12th.

North Georgia wraps up the rest of the season on the road with a weekend matchup against Georgia College before ending the season with two straight 2021 NCAA Tournament teams in Lenoir-Rhyne and Columbus State.

Lenoir-Rhyne comes off a run to the Final Four last season falling to eventual National Champion, Grand Valley State, in the semifinals. The two programs met last season as North Georgia defeated the Bears 1-0 on the road.

Columbus State, the reigning Peach Belt Conference Champion, earned the top seed in the Southeast region before falling in the NCAA Tournament to fellow Peach Belt member Flagler.

Season passes and single-game tickets are now on sale at UNGAthletics.com/Tickets. Fans can purchase season passes or single game tickets through the HomeTown Ticketing app.

To see the full schedule, visit https://ungathletics.com/sports/womens-soccer/schedule

Ralton named UNG head women’s soccer coach

Business, Press Release, Sports April 20, 2021 , by

Kayley Ralton

LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga.  – After an extensive national search, University of North Georgia Director of Athletics Mary Rob Plunkett has announced the promotion of Kayley Ralton to Head Women’s Soccer Coach Monday afternoon.

Ralton served as the Interim Head Women’s Soccer Coach for the Spring 2021 season, going 7-3 and making the Peach Belt Tournament as the No. 2 seed after reaching as high as a No. 10 national ranking during the season.

“I feel a great sense of pride to be appointed as the new head coach of the women’s soccer program,” stated Ralton. “The University of North Georgia is such an incredible institution, and I am truly honored to be a part of a nationally recognized athletic department. I would like to thank Director of Athletics Mary Rob Plunkett for believing in me to lead the program. I would also like to thank Derek Suranie and the entire search committee, and I am excited to be taking this next step. I can’t wait to begin preparations for the fall season, and I look forward to continually growing the program.”

Ralton served for more than three years as the assistant coach at UNG prior to taking on the interim role for the past season. In that time, she helped lead the women’s soccer program to a PBC regular season title, a NCAA Second Round appearance and a 38-12-5 record. UNG never finished worse than fourth in the conference standings during her tenure as assistant coach.

“We are excited to officially name Kayley our new head women’s soccer coach,” said Plunkett. “Her values and vision for the program align with our university and athletic department, and she has a proven track record of success as both a player and a coach in both the Peach Belt and the Southeast Region. Her passion for using the game of soccer to educate and inspire student-athletes on and off the field is what we were looking for in this search, and I am excited to see where she takes the program moving forward.”

A former four-year standout at Armstrong State from 2006-09, Ralton earned her bachelor’s degree in history from ASU in 2010 while serving as a student assistant for the Pirates that season. She served as a graduate assistant in 2011 & 2012 while earning her master’s in sports medicine in 2013. She then served as a full-time assistant from 2013-16.

In her time on the Armstrong State staff, she helped mentor the Pirates to three consecutive Peach Belt Conference regular season titles (2010, 2011 and 2012) and two PBC tournament championships (2011 & 2012).

The Pirates were crowned Southeast region champions in 2011 and 2012 and reached the NCAA Division II Final Four in 2011.

Individually, she helped develop 12 All-Americans and 30 All-Conference selection including two PBC Players of the Year: Kristina Pascutti in 2011 and Morgan Mitchell in 2012.

Ralton was a member of the Scotland U19 and U17 national teams and captained the U17 in tournament victories against Wales, USA, Holland and Republic of Ireland. As a member of the Scotland U19 team, she represented Scotland in the first stage and secondstage European Championships.

Ralton currently holds an USSF National B License as well as her NSCAA Goalkeeping Diploma and USA Weightlifting Sports Performance Coaching Certification.

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