GAINESVILLE, Ga. – The No. 13 University of North Georgia (UNG) men's soccer team scored an 89th-minute goal to draw 1-1 with No. 7 Tampa at the Allen Creek Sports Complex in Gainesville, Ga. Thursday afternoon.
Taking the field at Allen Creek just minutes from the UNG-Gainesville campus, the Nighthawks had barely been given time to catch their breath after a frustrating 2-1 loss at rival Young Harris (YH) on Wednesday.
Less than 24 hours after the loss to the Mountain Lions, UNG was tasked with facing the 7th-ranked team in the country. All of this coming less than 48 hours after being named the No. 13 team in the country by the United Soccer Coaches Association, the highest ranking in program history.
"I'm really proud of the boys tonight. To go toe-to-toe with a great Tampa team that is No. 7 in the nation, especially after the emotional battle we had less than 24 hours ago against Young Harris, shows the character and resilience of our guys," said head coach
Anel Lilic.
Two minutes into Thursday's top-25 showdown, Tampa found the back of the net. A header off a corner from Rodrigo Lopes trickled past the goal line. It appeared Lilic's challenging request to his team to face two difficult opponents on back-to-back nights was going to backfire.
However, the Nighthawks dominated the remainder of the first half.
Pressing forward and applying pressure to the Spartans' back line, UNG led Tampa in the shots category 7-3 by the 20th minute.
The Spartans survived the first-half pressure from the Nighthawks and held the slim one-goal lead at the break.
In the second half, UNG pressed even harder. Lilic and his assistants rotated fresh legs into the game numerous times in an effort to finally break through on the scoreboard.
The Nighthawks dominated possession in the second half. Tampa played on its heels and clung to the one-goal lead. UNG had multiple scoring opportunities in the final 20 minutes, perhaps none better than in the 72nd minutes.
Junior midfielder
Aram Lara punched a low shot from the top of the box that was saved by Spartans' goalkeeper Alex Hare. The rebound bounced to Hare's left as senior forward
Haris Osmanbasic charged forward.
As Osmanbasic attempted to bury the ball into the back of the net, Hare lunged from his knees and stuck his hand out to save the ball at the last moment. Tampa cleared the danger and spirits weakened for the Nighthawks as their best scoring chance of the day came and went.
Still, there was no quit from the men in blue Thursday night.
Minutes later, the Spartans had a chance to put the game on ice. A possession reminiscent of a pinball machine in the UNG penalty box resulted in Nighthawk sophomore keeper
Aleksa Lukic struggling to find the ball. Tampa's Oscar Warne was able to strike it past Lukic's left side seemingly into the net. However, 5-foot-8 senior defender
Max Garnett stood firm on the goal line and lunged forward to head the ball away for a miraculous save.
UNG continued to pressure as the minutes slowly ticked off the clock. In the 89th minute, junior forward
Valen Bargagna saw an opening in the defense and went for goal. He sent the ball into the box and just before it bounced past the defense, senior forward
Santiago Cano redirected it towards the bottom left corner of the net. Hare was caught out of position and the ball trickled past him into the goal for the equalizer.
The Nighthawk bench roared. A crowd of more than 600 faithful UNG fans stomped on the bleachers in celebration. 89 minutes of intense pressure, anxiety and perseverance finally paid off.
"We kept believing, kept fighting. To find that equalizer in the final moments speaks volumes about our spirit," said Lilic. "Our guys don't ever give up and won't accept defeat. I am so proud to lead these men. These are the kinds of performances that build us as a team moving forward."
UNG moved to 1-1-2 with the draw while the Spartans now sit at 2-0-1.
The schedule does not get any easier after the two matches this week for the Nighthawks. Now the team will head to Melbourne, Fla. to face Florida Tech on Saturday, Sep. 13 at 1 p.m.
The matchup with the Panthers concludes a five-game non-conference slate in which UNG has faced a team that was ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 either last season or this season. UNG's only remaining non-conference match is scheduled for Wednesday, Sep. 24 when No. 4 Anderson is slated to face the Nighthawks at home.
"Everyone thinks we are crazy playing 5 games in the span of 10 days, but we have a lot of depth and these guys come in every single day to practice, unit work, video and give maximum effort," said Lilic. "We wanted to prepare for a tough PBC schedule and be able to evaluate where we need to improve going into conference play. It's been great to see the team fully buy in and take on the challenge."
