UNG blanks Georgia Southwestern in Peach Belt Conference opener
Press Release September 11, 2022
DAHLONEGA – The University of North Georgia women’s soccer team defeated Georgia Southwestern 3-0 in the Nighthawk’s Peach Belt Conference opener.
Abbie Crane kicked off the scoring for UNG in the 18th minute with her team-leading third goal of the season. The first half stayed at 1-0 for most of the half despite the Nighthawks having multiple chances.
Late in the first half, Alex Clark found an opportunity from an assist by Katey Derkay and put the Nighthawks up by two goals just 30 seconds before the two sides head into halftime.
The final nail in the coffin came from Skylar Abbott, who put pressure on a Hurricane defense that had had to withstand a strong UNG attack for most of the match. Abbott used an assist by Katey Derkay, her second of the game, to put the game officially out of reach in the 88th minute.
UNG moves to 1-0 in PBC play this year and 3-1-1 overall after facing a tough non-conference schedule.
Inside the Box Score
- UNG allowed just one shot in the contest, outshooting the Hurricanes by 19.
- Katey Derkay joins Cat Watry as the only Nighthawks to record a multi-assist game.
- The Nighthawks continue their streak of four consecutive shutouts against GSW.
Next Up
The Nighthawks will host Young Harris for The Battle of Blood Mountain; Young Harris fell to Georgia College 0-1 in their PBC opener.
UNG Set To Host NCAA Women’s Soccer Opening Rounds
University of North Georgia November 11, 2016
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The No. 20 University of North Georgia women’s soccer team is set to host the first and second rounds of the 2016 NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championship beginning Friday, Nov. 11, at the UNG Soccer Complex.
General admission ticket prices are $8 for adults over 17, $5 for students ages 8-17 and children under seven admitted free. Students of participating schools can pay the student rate by providing valid student identification.
The first round match will feature the region’s sixth-seed Carson Newman, the automatic qualifier out of the South Atlantic Conference, taking on third-seeded Limestone, the automatic qualifier from the Conference Carolinas. The winner of Friday’s 2:00 p.m. match up will face second-seeded North Georgia on Sunday, November 13 at 1:00.
The first 100 UNG students through the gate for North Georgia’s second round match on Sunday will be admitted free as part of a LOYAL BLUE fan loyalty rewards promotion. Members of the #NighthawkNation that bring their blue vuvuzela will receive an addition five bonus points.
The NCAA postseason berth is the fifth in the past six years for head coach Chris Adams‘ program with the Nighthawks reaching the second round in all four previous appearances.
The first-round bye is a program first and will mark the first time in school history that UNG has hosted a NCAA women’s soccer championship event.
The other Southeast region host site includes No. 4-seed Armstrong State (13-4-2) and No. 5-seed Lenoir-Rhyne (13-4-2) in the first round with the winner facing top-seeded and host Columbus State (18-2) on Sunday.
The two advancing teams from the Dahlonega and Columbus Regionals will face off in the Sweet Sixteen on Friday, Nov. 18.
This year the highest seed advancing out of the second round in the South Region will host the third and fourth Rounds of the tournament the following weekend on Nov. 18 and 20.
SCOUTING THE FIELD – DAHLONEGA REGIONAL
Carson-Newman earned their spot in the nationals by taking down three straight opponents in the SAC Tournament to earn the league’s automatic bid. In the league final, the Eagles scored two first half goals against Wingate and held on for a 2-1 win to claim their second straight SAC championship and sixth overall.
The Eagles are 16-3-1 on the season and boast one of the best offensive attacks in the country having scored 73 goals on the season so far. They are led by Lauren Wade and Julianne Herrity who have turned in 20 and 18 goals on the year, respectively.
Limestone, out of the Conference Carolinas, earned the third-seed in the Southeast region by putting together a season that saw them rise to No. 12 in the most recent NSCAA national poll.
The Saints (18-1) took their only loss of the season back on Sept. 7th at Queens, 2-0, and have won 17 straight since, marking the second-longest win streak in Division II this season.
Limestone won the conference tournament by edging Belmont Abbey 2-1 in the title match.
This marks the Saints’ second tourney appearance, with the previous showing coming last season, when they lost to North Georgia in the first round.
CHAD HAYNIE // Director of Athletic Communications
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH GEORGIA ATHLETICS
UNG to Host NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament First & Second Rounds for First Time
University of North Georgia November 9, 2016
11/7/2016 | Women’s Soccer
INDIANAPOLIS – The University of North Georgia women’s soccer team was selected to the field of 48 teams for the 2016 NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championship as announced by the NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Committee Monday evening. The national tournament appearance is the fifth in the past six years for UNG. The Nighthawks (14-2-3) were awarded the No. 2-seed in the Southeast Region, meaning UNG will host first and second round matches in Dahlonega for the first time in school history.
Also coming to Dahlonega this weekend will be No. 3-seed Limestone (18-1) and sixth-seeded Carson Newman (16-3-1). Limestone won the Conference Carolinas Championship on Sunday with a 2-1 over Belmont Abbey in the title game, while Carson Newman took down Wingate in the in the South Atlantic Conference Championship match with an identical 2-1 score. The two teams will square off Friday at 2 p.m.
The winner of the First Round match on Friday between the Saints and the Eagles will face North Georgia in the Second Round match on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. The other host site includes No. 4-seed Armstrong State (13-4-2) and No. 5-seed Lenoir-Rhyne (13-4-2) in the first round with the winner facing No. 1-seed Columbus State (18-2) on Sunday.
The two advancing teams from the Dahlonega and Columbus Regionals will face off in the Sweet Sixteen on Friday, Nov. 18.
This year the highest seed advancing out of the Second Round in the South Region will host the Third and Fourth Rounds of the tournament the following weekend (Nov. 18 & 20). The Southeast Region is paired with the South Region meaning the champion of each region would play in the fourth round with the winner advancing to the NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championship semifinals.
The Final Four and Championship matches will take place December 1 and 3 at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri.
The First and Second Round NCAA Tournament matches this weekend will be the first-ever non-softball NCAA Tournament event hosted in Dahlonega.
UNG Men’s & Women’s Soccer News
University of North Georgia November 2, 2016
Men’s Soccer Downs USC Aiken, 3-1, to Advance to PBC Semifinal
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The No. 2-seed University of North Georgia men’s soccer team downed seventh-seeded USC Aiken, 3-1, Tuesday evening to advance to the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Semifinals at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Georgia on Friday. With the win the Nighthawks improve to 10-9 on the season.
North Georgia struck first in the 29th minute with a quick pass from Chris Paul to Jordan Day to allow for a floater pass to set up the Matt Shaftoe goal just feet from the net.
The second goal of the night came in the 54th with a pass from Shaftoe into Ivan Acimovic at the top of the penalty box to allow for a shot that went through the hands and legs of USC Aiken goalkeeper, Orlando Maldovan.
The final Nighthawk goal came in the 76th minute with Shaftoe’s second of the night, a perfect through ball from Day to allow for a one-on-one battle inside the box that Shaftoe made the best of.
The lone USC Aiken goal, came off a penalty kick by Andre Simmond in the 60th minute but it would not be enough to extend the Pacer season, as they finish 4-13 on the year.
NOTES
– With the win North Georgia advances to just their second Peach Belt Conference semifinal in program history, and the first since 2008.
– The Nighthawk matchup in the PBC semifinal will be the second installment of the Battle for Blood Mountain on the season. While Young Harris will try to avenge its defeat in Dahlonega from earlier this season, the Nighthawks will look to repay the Mountain Lions from postseason losses in the previous two years.
– With the win the Nighthawks improve to their best record since 2005 when the team finished the season 10-6-2 overall. The 10-win season is just the third in the past 20 years for North Georgia and is the first under head coach Pat Parris.
STAT OF THE GAME
8 – With his two goals on the night, Matt Shaftoe moves into the leading scorer position for the Nighthawks with eight goals on the year.
NEXT UP
The Nighthawks will face No. 3-seed Young Harris at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Georgia in the Peach Belt Conference Semifinals, Friday, Nov. 4, at 2 p.m. More information on the PBC Soccer Tournament, including directions and admission prices, can be found on the Tournament Website.
Women’s Soccer Battles Out 3-2 Win Over Flagler
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The No. 3-seed University of North Georgia women’s soccer team edged out sixth-seeded Flagler, 3-2, to advance to the Peach Belt Conference semifinal at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Georgia on Friday. With the win the Nighthawks improve to 13-1-3 on the season.
Following a slow start to the game, the Nighthawks struck first in the 34th minute as Brynn Finneran served in a ball from the top corner of the box that was flicked on to Rachel VanHorn, by her sister Renee VanHorn to give North Georgia its first lead of the night, 1-0.
Flagler brought the match back to level pecking in the 58th with a goal from Kaela Harmon coming off of the deflected save of Nighthawk goalkeeper, Kaitlyn Siberski, coming off a free kick from Charlene Nowotny just outside the box.
The VanHorn sisters countered with two quick goals; Rachel blasted her second goal of the night in the upper 90 in the 67th, and Renee in the 68th minute taking advantage of a failed clearance by Flagler just in front of the net.
Flagler regained a glimmer of hope in the 71st minute with a successful penalty kick from Frida Lindblom, but it would not be enough as the Nighthawks made the 3-2 score stand to punch their ticket to Evans.
NOTES
– With the win the Nighthawks improve to 9-0-1 all-time against Flagler, the tie coming from the 1-1 draw between the two earlier in the season in St. Augustine.
– With the ticket to the semifinal punched, the Nighthawks advance to the PBC semifinals for the sixth time in the past seven years.
– With her 17th goal of the season, Rachel VanHorn moves within one goal of tying the program record for goals in a single season. Two Nighthawks have scored 18 goals in a given year with Cicely Taliaferro last achieving the feat in 2014 and Kelly Penston set the bar in 2013.
NEXT UP
The Nighthawks will face No. 2-seed UNC Pembroke at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Georgia in the Peach Belt Conference semifinal on Friday, Nov. 4, at 8 p.m. More information on the PBC Soccer Tournament, including directions and admission prices, can be found on the Tournament Website.
No. 15 Women’s Soccer Cruises Past Pacers, 10-0
University of North Georgia October 16, 2016
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Forward Rachel VanHorn continued her hot play with a hat-trick Saturday evening as the 15th-ranked University of North Georgia women’s soccer team blew past USC Aiken, 10-0. The Nighthawks improve to 9-1-2 on the season with a 6-1-1 mark in the Peach Belt Conference.
Rachel VanHorn opened the scoring party in the 11th minute playing a long pass from Sophia Matonak into goal for the first score of the match. Jacy Ramey added to the Nighthawk lead in the 20th, tapping in a great cross from Olivia Dumphy that just evaded the Pacers goalkeeper. Rachel VanHorn struck again in the 24th as Dumphy picked up another assist giving UNG a 3-0 lead. After Matonak converted on a penalty kick in the 28th, Renee VanHorn finished off a great attack from Daizah Patterson in the 45th for UNG’s final goal of the half.
The second half saw a handful of similarities to the first, starting with Rachel VanHorn leading the scoring attack getting her hat-trick in the 55-th minute as she intercepted a pass in the attacking third and took it straight into the box where she beat out the Pacers keeper to extend the UNG lead to 6-0. The Nighthawks went on to net another four goals from Mollie Arrendale, Patterson, Payton Bisso, and Renee VanHorn.
NOTES
– Rachel VanHorn‘s hat-trick is the ninth in UNG history and first since Oct. 11, 2014, when Mollie Arrendale found the back of the net three times at Georgia Southwestern. It was the UNG hat-trick in Dahlonega since 2008.
– North Georgia currently sits in a tie for second-place in the Peach Belt Conference standings with Armstrong State at 19 points.
– The Nighthawks move to 10-2-2 in the all-time series against the Pacers having won the last nine meetings.
STAT OF THE NIGHT
5 – The sister squad of Rachel and Renee VanHorn combined for five goals on the night. Rachel, the reigning NSCAA National Player of the Week, leads the PBC with 12 goals and 27 points on the season.
NEXT UP
The Nighthawks travel to Americus on Wednesday to take on Georgia Southwestern. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.
CHAD HAYNIE // Director of Athletic Communications
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH GEORGIA ATHLETICS
No. 15 Women’s Soccer Pulls Out Hard Fought Win Over Wingate
University of North Georgia October 13, 2016
10/12/2016 | Women’s Soccer
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Senior Sophia Matonak provided the 78th minute game-winning goal as the 15th-ranked University of North Georgia women’s soccer team pulled out a hard fought 2-1 win over Wingate Wednesday afternoon in front of a packed house at UNG Soccer Complex for UNG Make-A-Wish Day 2016. The Nighthawks improve to 8-1-2 after winning their final non-conference game of the regular season.
After nearly an entire half of scoreless soccer, North Georgia broke through in the 44-th as Rachel VanHorn won a header on a ball played into the box and after a deflection off an attempted shot by her sister, Renee, Rachel finished the ball into the back of the net to give UNG the 1-0 they took to halftime.
The upset minded Bulldogs didn’t waste any time equaling the score as Kimmi Moore played a low cross from Taylor Krakower across goal to evade the UNG keeper and tie the match at 1-1 in the 47-th minute.
30 minutes later, Matonak delivered the game-winner off a free kick from a Wingate foul just feet from the top of the box, drilling her shot just inside the near post to lift the Nighthawks to victory.
NOTES
– Today’s match was UNG’s fifth annual Make-A-Wish Day, welcoming a local “Wish Kid” into the Nighthawk Nation. Six-year-old Alexa from Canton, Georgia, who is recovering from chemotherapy and surgery removing Wilms’ tumor and one of her kidneys, was an honorary starter for the Nighthawks.
– Kaitlyn Siberski (4-1-1) picked up her fourth win of the season in goal collecting a pair of saves on the day.
– UNG now leads the all-time series against Wingate, 3-2, having won the previous three meetings. The last two contests between the two teams came in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2011 and 2012. This was just the second meeting between the two squads in Dahlonega with the Bulldogs winning the first in 2008, 4-1.
NEXT UP
North Georgia will step back into conference play on Saturday, Oct. 15, hosting USC Aiken at 7:30 p.m.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH GEORGIA ATHLETICS
UNG Womens & Mens Soccer News
University of North Georgia October 10, 2016
No. 16 Women’s Soccer Soars Past Montevallo, 3-1
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The No. 16 University of North Georgia women’s soccer team raced past the visiting Falcons of Montevallo, 3-1, in front of another large crowd at the UNG Soccer Complex. With the win the Nighthawks improve to 7-1-2 on the season and 5-1-1 in the Peach Belt Conference.
The first goal of the match came in the sixth minute off the foot of Rachel VanHorn, assisted by the header from Jacey Ramey guiding the ball just in front of the goal for a one-on-one situation that VanHorn capitalized on.
The second goal of the match came off a corner taken by Taylor Wagnon that was headed into the net by Jessica Allen in the 24th minute.
Rachel VanHorn scored her second goal of the night in the 42nd with a shot from deep in the corner of the penalty made possible by a pass in from Sophia Matonak.
Montevallo’s lone goal came in the 80th with a breakaway goal from Ally Reeves just inside the penalty box, assisted by a pass in from Taylor Gonzales.
NOTES
– Rachel VanHorn scored two goals in tonight’s contest, making it four for the week after scoring two goals in Wednesday’s match at Lander.
– With the lion share of minutes on the night, North Georgia goalkeeper, Kaitlyn Siberski, improves to 3-1-1 on the season.
– With the win North Georgia improves to 8-0 in conference play against Montevallo in the all-time series.
NEXT UP
The Nighthawks will host Wingate on Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 4 p.m., as a part of Make-A-Wish Day at the UNG Soccer Complex. Admission to the match is free with donations encouraged to benefit Make-A-Wish Georgia.
Men’s Soccer Picks Up Key PBC Victory in 2-0 Win Over Montevallo
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The University of North Georgia men’s soccer team shutout the visiting Montevallo Falcons 2-0 in a key conference match, improving to 6-7 on the season and 3-2 in the Peach Belt Conference.
After a slow start to the match, the Nighthawks struck first in the 39th minute with a Matt Shaftoe header into the goal made possible by the low cross in from Adam Farrell.
The second and final goal of the match came in the 47th with the unassisted goal from Billy Johnson while the Montevallo goalkeeper, Robert Kuta, remained on the turf unable to recover after blocking the preceding shot from Johnson.
Montevallo’s Austin Petrovich was ejected in the 53rd minute after knocking down UNG’s Billy Johnson on the attack just outside the penalty box, with the Falcons playing a man down for the remainder of the match.
NOTES
-North Georgia goalkeeper, Conner Domaleski (1-1), earns his first win with the Nighthawk victory over Montevallo.
-The victory also comes as the first shutout of the season for the Nighthawks.
STAT OF THE DAY
2 – Today’s victory comes as North Georgia’s second in program history versus Montevallo, and is the second consecutive win in Dahlonega in the series.
NEXT UP
North Georgia will host Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday, October 12, at 6:30 p.m., as a part of Make-A-Wish Night at the UNG Soccer Complex. Admission to the match is free with donations encouraged to benefit Make-A-Wish Georgia.
CHAD HAYNIE // Director of Athletic Communications
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH GEORGIA ATHLETICS