DAHLONEGA, Ga. — The University of North Georgia (UNG) men's soccer team erupted for three second-half goals to secure a 3-1 comeback win over No. 24 Flagler on Saturday afternoon in Peach Belt Conference action at the UNG Soccer Complex at Lynn Cottrell Park.
The win marked the first victory and fifth straight unblemished result this against top-25 teams for the Nighthawks. The last top-25 win came back on Oct. 18, 2023 in a home win over No. 16 Clayton State.
After a scoreless first half, the match came alive after halftime. Flagler's Filip Hornburg opened the scoring in the 53rd minute, slotting home pass from Oliver Lindstrom in front of goal to give the Saints a 1-0 advantage.
With both sides reduced to 10 men in the 65
th minute following matching red cards, the Nighthawks responded immediately. Just seconds after the restart,
Jorge Sandoval found the equalizer, finishing a feed from
Isaac Calderon to level the match at 1-1. The goal energized the home side, and North Georgia began to control possession and tempo.
In the 73rd minute, the Nighthawks took the lead for good when
Tyler Vitelli converted from close range after
Samuel Gomez delivered a well-placed pass into the box. The assists were credited to
Stephane Shongo and Sandoval.
North Georgia continued to press forward, and the pressure paid off once more in the 80th minute when Vukasin Lukovic calmly buried a penalty kick to make it 3-1.
Lukic finished with three saves before giving way to
Kendall Henry, who closed out the final 25 minutes in net to preserve the victory. North Georgia outshot Flagler 20-14 and held a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal.
With the win North Georgia improved to 4-3-4 overall and 3-1-1 in PBC action while the Saints dropped to 5-2-3 (2-1-2 PBC). The Nighthawks will return to action Wednesday, Oct. 8 on the road at Middle Georgia.
