DAHLONEGA — Senior Sophia Matonak provided the 78th minute game-winning goal as the 15th-ranked University of North Georgia women's soccer team pulled out a hard fought 2-1 win over Wingate Wednesday afternoon in front of a packed house at UNG Soccer Complex for UNG Make-A-Wish Day 2016. The Nighthawks improve to 8-1-2 after winning their final non-conference game of the regular season.
After nearly an entire half of scoreless soccer, North Georgia broke through in the 44-th as Rachel VanHorn won a header on a ball played into the box and after a deflection off an attempted shot by her sister, Renee, Rachel finished the ball into the back of the net to give UNG the 1-0 they took to halftime.
The upset minded Bulldogs didn't waste any time equaling the score as Kimmi Moore played a low cross from Taylor Krakower across goal to evade the UNG keeper and tie the match at 1-1 in the 47-th minute.
30 minutes later, Matonak delivered the game-winner off a free kick from a Wingate foul just feet from the top of the box, drilling her shot just inside the near post to lift the Nighthawks to victory.
NOTES
- Today's match was UNG's fifth annual Make-A-Wish Day, welcoming a local "Wish Kid" into the Nighthawk Nation. Six-year-old Alexa from Canton, Georgia, who is recovering from chemotherapy and surgery removing Wilms' tumor and one of her kidneys, was an honorary starter for the Nighthawks.
- Kaitlyn Siberski (4-1-1) picked up her fourth win of the season in goal collecting a pair of saves on the day.
- UNG now leads the all-time series against Wingate, 3-2, having won the previous three meetings. The last two contests between the two teams came in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2011 and 2012. This was just the second meeting between the two squads in Dahlonega with the Bulldogs winning the first in 2008, 4-1.
NEXT UP
North Georgia will step back into conference play on Saturday, Oct. 15, hosting USC Aiken at 7:30 p.m.
