Women's soccer team makes NCAA tournament
Article By: Clark Leonard
The University of North Georgia (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) women's soccer team has punched its ticket to a fourth consecutive NCAA Division II tournament. As the No. 3 seed in the Southeast Regional, the Nighthawks will face No. 6 seed Wingate at 3 p.m. Nov. 16 in the first round in Salisbury, North Carolina.
Second-seeded Catawba College faces No. 7 seed UNC Pembroke at 6 p.m. Nov. 16, with the winner of that contest matching up with the Â鶹ÊÓƵ-Wingate victor at 6 p.m. Nov. 18 with a spot in the Southeast Regional finals on the line.
In the other half of the regional, fourth-seeded Columbus State University and fifth-seeded Flagler College will meet for a PBC semifinal rematch in the first round of the Southeast Regional, while top-seeded Lenoir Rhyne University will face eighth-seeded Carson-Newman University.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ heads into the postseason for the ninth time in the NCAA era after one of the best regular seasons in the program's history. North Georgia compiled a record of 14-3-3 this season, finishing first in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) standings after going unbeaten at 8-0-1 in PBC play in the regular season. The Nighthawks then advanced to their first PBC tournament championship game since 2017.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ defeated Georgia Southwestern University 3-1 in its PBC tournament opener Nov. 6 before overcoming a 2-0 deficit to win in penalty kicks Nov. 10 in the PBC semifinals against Lander University. Columbus State defeated the Nighthawks 3-1 in the PBC title game Nov. 12, a reversal from Â鶹ÊÓƵ's win two weeks earlier to secure the regular-season title. and earned all-tournament honors.
secured PBC Defender of the Year honors for the season, with , and joining her as first-team All-PBC selections. , , , Wheeler, and brought home second-team All-PBC honors.
Fourth-year head coach was named PBC Coach of the Year. She is now 41-17-7 overall and 27-7-3 in PBC regular-season play since taking the helm of the program ahead of the spring 2021 season.
Fall teams aim to maintain momentum
Â鶹ÊÓƵ's athletic teams will aim to build this fall on the best year in program history by adding more success in soccer, golf and cross country.
Smith preps to play in U.S. Amateur
Fresh off his individual NCAA Division II men's golf national championship in May, Â鶹ÊÓƵ's Hunter Smith is playing in the U.S. Amateur, which is Aug. 11-17 in San Francisco.
McGill shines at Air Assault School
Â鶹ÊÓƵ cadet and women's soccer student-athlete Grace McGill recently completed Air Assault School at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. She led the 40 cadets who took part in the program.
Five selected for Â鶹ÊÓƵ Athletics Hall of Fame
The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Athletic Department and the Athletics Hall of Fame Committee have announced the 15th class of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Athletics Hall of Fame.