COLUMBUS, Ga. – In the 2026 Peach Belt Conference (PBC ) Tournament Championship, the No. 10 University of North Georgia (UNG) women's soccer team finished as the runner-up after narrowly falling to No. 6 Columbus State 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.
The Nighthawks (13-4-3, 6-2-1 PBC) found themselves having to battle from behind early, as Columbus State's Kaylee Castano put a header into the back of the net to give the Cougars a 1-0 advantage 10 minutes in.
The Cougars (15-3-2, 7-0-2 PBC) quickly doubled the lead moments later with a goal from Shania Wegesend at the 15:03 mark, pushing the lead to 2-0.
With 16 minutes remaining in the first half, the Nighthawks were inches away from finding their first goal with a Grace McGill header that bounced off the upright and away from the goal. Despite the effort to chip away at the lead, North Georgia headed into halftime still trailing by a pair of goals.
Coming out of the break, the Cougars continued to test the Nighthawk defense with a ferocious shot towards the goal at the 53 minute mark. With the ball barelling towards the net, Kayleigh Marreel dove through the air to come up with the stop and keep the score 2-0.
The save from Marreel gave the Nighthawks a spark to turn around and get on the score on the other end of the field. Less than a minute later, Nina Lopez fired in her 12th goal of the season to cut the deficit down to one.
North Georgia remained aggressive in an attempt to bring the score level with seven more shots, but the Cougars' defense came up with the stops they needed down the stretch to maintain their lead until the final whistle.
Chloe Diaz, Emma Moreau and Lopez were all named to the PBC All-Tournament Team, as the trio combined for six goals and four assists across North Georgia's three tournament matches.
The Nighthawks will now shift their focus to the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship as the current No. 2 seed in the Southeast region. The selection show will take place on Monday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. and can be watched at NCAA.com.
