The Peach Belt Conference Men's Soccer Tournament Semi-Finals continued in a dramatic fashion as #3 seed Flagler knocked off #2 seeded Lander and #1 seed North Georgia defeated #4 seed Clayton State. The Nighthawks will host the Saints on Saturday at 1:00pm in Dahlonega, in a rematch of the PBC Regular Season Finale.
#1 North Georgia 1-0 #4 Clayton State
TOP SEEDED NIGHTHAWKS ADVANCE TO PBC CHAMPIONSHIP WITH 1-0 WIN OVER CLAYTON STATE
DAHLONEGA – Santiago Cano delivered the breakthrough in the 78th minute, lifting the University of North Georgia (UNG) men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Clayton State in Peach Belt Conference Tournament semifinal action on Wednesday night at the UNG Soccer Field at Lynn Cottrell Park.
Cano finished a well-constructed sequence for his seventh goal of the season, slotting home a pass from
Vukašin Lukovic after
Jorge Sandoval initiated the buildup on the right flank. The goal came moments after a sustained spell of second-half pressure in which the Nighthawks finally unlocked the Laker back line. North Georgia (10-4-5) controlled long stretches of the match, outshooting Clayton State 14-9 and generating six shots on goal. The Nighthawks nearly found the opener late in the first half with a flurry of attempts from
Mikey Jensen and
Max Garnett, but Clayton State goalkeeper George Roke kept the match scoreless through intermission. UNG goalkeeper
Aleksa Lukic secured the clean sheet with two second half saves, including a crucial stop in the 55th minute on a low strike from Fabian Wagner. The Nighthawks' back line held steady through the final moments as Clayton State pushed numbers forward in search of an equalizer. The Lakers (8-8-4) were assessed 17 fouls and managed just two shots on goal.
The Nighthawks will host third-seeded Flagler at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15 in the championship. Flagler advanced with a 3-0 road win at No. 21 Lander in the tournament's other semifinal.
#2 Lander 0-3 #3 Flagler
SAINTS BLANK BEARCATS AND ADVANCE TO CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
GREENWOOD, S.C. –
Hugues Iguaran scored an unassisted goal in the 35
th minute to help lead Flagler College to a 3-0 victory over No. 21 (United Soccer Coaches Division II Top 25) Lander University in a Peach Belt Conference Tournament semifinal match Wednesday night at Van Taylor Stadium.
Flagler, the No. 3 seed, extended its unbeaten streak to 10 matches (7-0-3) and improved to 12-2-6 overall. The Saints will head to Dahlonega, Georgia to take on the University of North Georgia Saturday at 1 p.m. with the league's automatic berth on the line. The last time Flagler lost was at North Georgia on Oct. 4.
Lander falls to 9-3-6 and will have to wait until the pairings are released on Monday to see if they got an at-large berth. Flagler's first goal came as the result of a foul by the Lander goalkeeper. Iguaran sent a pass ahead to
Finn Weigelt who had slipped past three defenders. The Bearcat keeper came way off his line and collided with Weigelt to set up a free kick.
Gustav Moberg took the free kick as the ball was served into the box and deflected out to Iguaran. He blasted a right-footed shot inside the right post to give the Saints a 1-0 lead in the 35
th minute. Just over four minutes later,
Tim Wahlborg scored off a
Mitchell Claxton pass to the near post.
Lenz Trubenbacher gave Flagler a commanding 3-0 lead with his goal in the 69
th minute.
Ryan Rivas turned in his eighth clean sheet of the season for the Saints as he made seven saves. Conrad Knight tallied two saves for the Bearcats. Lander out-shot Flagler 18-8 as Ryosuke Tanaka led the Bearcats with four shots. Iguaran and Wahlborg led the Saints with two shots apiece. Each team had one corner kick. Flagler was whistled for 16 fouls while Lander committed nine.
NOTE: The Saints have won five tournament matches in a row. Flagler is the defending Peach Belt Conference Tournament champions. The Saints are 4-0 against the Nighthawks in the conference tournament. Three of those wins came in the quarterfinal round. This is the first time these two teams have met in Dahlonega in the postseason.