DAHLONEGA – The University of North Georgia men's soccer team picked up its second win of the season in a 2-1 triumph over Georgia Southwestern Saturday afternoon. The win served as the Nighthawks' first win at home at the UNG Soccer Field at Lynn Cottrell Park. UNG moves to 2-3-1 on the season and 1-2-1 at home on the year.
Senior transfer Rafael Oliveira Pais was the difference maker in the game for the Nighthawks. The midfielder scored a pair of goals leading to the win, marking his first tallies in the goal column this season.
Oliveira Pais joined UNG from Reinhardt University at the NAIA level. Pais was a standout with the Eagles, netting a total of 21 goals while adding 22 assists in his four years there. The man they call "Rafa" earned Appalachian Athletic Conference all-conference honors in three out of his four seasons at Reinhardt.
He's had an immediate impact since arriving in Dahlonega, starting all six games for UNG this season. Despite plenty of playing time, it wasn't until Saturday that Oliveira Pais was able to put his talents on full display.
In the 35th minute, Pais got his first opportunity thanks to junior teammate Tyle Vitelli. As Vitelli positioned himself to field a cross into the box, he went to the turf after being shoved by a Hurricane defender. The contact warranted a whistle and thus a penalty kick opportunity for the Nighthawks. With Pais being the pure striker that he is, he was called upon to break the scoreless tie.
Prior to the penalty kick, Hurricane starting keeper Noah Kasin was ejected with a red card for unsporting behavior towards the referee. Backup keeper Juan Ramirez would step on to attempt to stop the penalty chance. It was a hopeless endeavor.
After Ramirez tied his boots and finally got settled, Pais charged the ball and ripped a low line drive to the bottom left corner of the box. While Ramirez guessed correctly, the ball whizzed past his outstretched hands for the first Nighthawk goal of the day.
UNG took the 1-0 lead into the halftime break. They dominated the possession and opportunities in the first half, out shooting GSW 9-5 in the first frame.
Out of the halftime stoppage, the Nighthawks maintained control in the game. Neither team had an abundance of opportunities to score and UNG was quietly cruising to a win with a 1-0 lead.
Everything changed in the 70th minute, though.
After a throw-in on the near side, GSW had the ball in dangerous territory just outside the 18-yard box. Axel-Ambroise Gravel spun and dribbled around a number of Nighthawk defenders and fed the ball to Jack Mallaret who lifted it past UNG keeper Aleksa Lukic.
With just 20 minutes left to play, the Hurricanes evened the contest at 1-1.
It wouldn't be long before the Nighthawks got the goal right back.
Just two minutes later, it was Oliveira Pais again elevating UNG in front. After a beautiful arcing, 40-yard pass from junior defender DJ Shin, Oliveira Pais had the ball on his foot just outside the six-yard box. He feigned a shot once with his right foot and sent a Hurricane defender sliding hopelessly past. He then quickly released a rocket from point-blank range that any keeper would've been fearful to step in front of.
The pass from Shin, who made his first start on Saturday since transferring to UNG from Bryan College, was a highlight reel play that ultimately led to the win for the Nighthawks.
With Oliveira Pais' second goal of the game, he became the third Nighthawk scorer this season to net a pair of goals. Oliveira Pais and freshman forward Maxwell Mitchell are the only UNG players to score multiple goals in a game this season.
With the win, the Nighthawks can now look forward to a date with USC Aiken. UNG will visit the Pacers in Aiken, S.C. on Wednesday, Sep. 25 for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
