11-4-16
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.
