AMERICUS, Ga. - A dominant second-half effort lifted the No. 5 University of North Georgia women's soccer team to a convincing 3-0 Peach Belt Conference road victory over Georgia Southwestern on Saturday evening at Hurricane Field. The Nighthawks scored all three goals in the final 27 minutes to remain unbeaten on the season and extend their winning streak in conference play to seven matches.
 
After a scoreless opening half that saw North Georgia control possession but struggle to convert opportunities, the Nighthawks broke through in the 64th minute when Blanca Cruz buried her team-leading seventh goal of the year. Cruz took a feed from Chloe Diaz near the top of the box and calmly finished to the lower left corner to give UNG the 1-0 advantage.
 
North Georgia continued to apply pressure and the lead doubled less than 10 minutes later. In the 74th minute, Grace McGill found the back of the net for her fifth goal of the season, taking a cross from Kamora Hall and finishing from close range to make it 2-0. The Nighthawks put the match out of reach just five minutes later when Bailey Oetinger scored her sixth of the season, finishing a well-placed pass from Cruz in the 79th minute to close the scoring.
 
While the offense came alive in the second half, the Nighthawk defense was equally impressive throughout the match. Isabelle Lee earned the clean sheet in goal, collecting two saves as UNG limited Georgia Southwestern to just five total shots. The back line anchored by Malia Burkes, Alizee Buresi, Alex Clark and Alexa Aronoff stifled the Hurricane attack and helped North Georgia post its ninth shutout of the season.
 
The Nighthawks controlled every statistical category, outshooting GSW 21-5 and holding a 10-1 advantage in corner kicks.
 
With the victory, North Georgia improves to 11-0-1 overall and 7-0-0 in Peach Belt Conference play, continuing one of the best starts in program history. Georgia Southwestern falls to 4-6-2 (1-4-2 PBC) with the loss.
 
North Georgia will return home for another key conference matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 15, hosting No. 8 Catawba at the UNG Soccer Complex in non-conference action. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
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