DAHLONEGA — As the top seed in the Peach Belt Conference tournament, the No. 23 University of North Georgia women's soccer team defeated Georgia Southwestern 3-0 at the UNG Soccer Field at Lynn Cottrell Park, propelled past the Hurricanes by two second-half goals.
The top-seeded Nighthawks started quickly, grabbing a goal in the 11th minute as
Cat Watry off an assist by
Katey Derkay, taking a 1-0 lead. Despite outshooting GSW 14-1 in the opening half, Hurricane goalkeeper Emma Beddow was on top of her game, making save after save to keep Georgia Southwestern in the game.
After the halftime break, the UNG attack continued to pressure the Hurricanes, finding the second goal in the 62nd, this time by
Alex Clark, scoring her fourth goal of the season using an assist by
Adleigh Wheeler. Eight minutes later, in the 70th minute,
Natalie Maguire added her fourth goal of the season, giving the Nighthawks a 3-0 lead after finding the back of the net on a
Meghan O'Brien assist.
With the victory, UNG moves to 14-2-2 and advances to the PBC semifinals, hosting the winner of Lander versus USC Beaufort on Friday (Nov. 10), with times to be announced. On the opposite of the bracket, third-seeded Flagler and second-seeded Columbus State advanced, setting up for those two sides to meet with a spot in the PBC Championship on the line.
