GREENWOOD, S.C. – The No. 20 University of North Georgia (UNG) men's soccer team fell for the first time in the 2026 season, suffering a 3-1 loss on the road to Lander on Wednesday evening.
After 13 games this season, the Nighthawks (7-1-5, 3-1-4 PBC) were handed their first defeat since the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Tournament Championship on Nov. 15, 2025.
Despite a handful of opportunities to break open the scoring from both sides to start the game, Lander struck first with a goal at the 28:59 mark of the first half to give the Bearcats the lead.
It would not take long for the Nighthawks to find the early equalizer. Less than two minutes after Lander captured the lead, North Georgia flipped the field to an open Max Mitchell, who raced around the defense and passed the ball off to Isaac Calderon at the top of the box. With a defender in pursuit, Calderon spun around while maintaining possession of the ball to avoid the defense and delivered a powerful strike into the back of the net to bring the score level.
The 1-1 score remained intact until the closing minutes of the first half, as Lander struck again with a shot to the lower-right corner of the goal to regain the lead 2-1 heading into halftime.
Coming out of the break, the Nighthawks pressured the Lander back line with a flurry of shots to try and even the score once more.
In need of a cushion, the Bearcats got exactly that at the 70:44 mark with a goal to extend the lead to 3-1.
The Nighthawks fired off three more shots to try and chip away at the lead, but the Bearcats' defense held on to come up with the stops they needed to secure the win.
Calderon paced the Nighthawks with the goal and six shots on target, bringing his impressive scoring campaign up to a team-leading nine goals across 12 games played this season.
The Bearcats (4-4-3, 3-2-2 PBC) were led by Vidar Rydell, Savvas Chionakis and Orran Mushet with a trio of goals between the three players.
North Georgia will look to get back in the win column at home against Flagler on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 1 p.m. at the UNG Soccer Field.
