(COLUMBUS, Ga.) – The University of North Georgia (UNG) women’s soccer team suffered a 1-0 defeat on the road against No. 2 Columbus State Saturday afternoon.
Despite the loss, UNG has secured a home game in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament with at least a top four finish in the league.
CSU’s win Saturday gave the Cougars the regular season crown, but the Nighthawks are firmly in second place and will host at least one game in the PBC Tournament beginning on Saturday, Nov. 9. In second place as of right now, the Nighthawks are slated to face the seventh seed in the league which is currently Lander.
Against CSU on Saturday, UNG held one of the NCAA’s best offenses to vastly limited production. The Cougars entered the game averaging 25.1 shots, 13.5 shots on goal, 5.0 goals and 13.1 points per contest. All marks lead the nation. Against the Nighthawks, CSU only mustered 14 shots, five of which were on target.
The lone goal in the contest came in the 81st minute from Abigail Ackerson after a controversial no-call from the line judge.
After an original attempt to find a shot was halted, CSU’s Faith Knoedler chased a deflected pass towards the goal line. The spinning ball rattled around at Knoedler’s feet inside the box. It would appear the ball crossed the goal line out of bounds, which would’ve given UNG possession via a goal kick. A number of Nighthawk defenders stopped and raised their arms, signaling the ball was out of play. No whistle was called as Knoedler drove toward the net. Ackerson quietly floated towards the six-yard box and received the ball from Knoedler unmarked. She scored easily to break the scoreless tie.
UNG gave a valiant effort in the final nine minutes of the contest but was unable to even the score.
For the 11th straight season, the Nighthawks have landed at least a top-4 finish in the PBC. UNG will now prepare for a blockbuster non-conference match as the Nighthawks will welcome No. 6 Lenoir-Rhyne to the UNG Soccer Field at Lynn Cottrell Park in Dahlonega on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 4 p.m. The contest will serve as UNG’s annual Black Out game.
The Nighthawks are still slated to play one more conference game against Lander as a makeup from the original showdown with the Bearcats that was scheduled for Oct. 5. The date of that game remains to be announced.
