Men's soccer team earns first NCAA bid

The University of North Georgia (UNG) men's soccer team will play in the NCAA Division II tournament for the first time ever. As the No. 7 seed in Super Regional 2, the Nighthawks (13-3-5) face No. 10 seed West Alabama (9-6-4) in the first round at 3 p.m. Nov. 13 in Salisbury, North Carolina.

If the Nighthawks win, they will face host and No. 2 seed Catawba at 3 p.m. Nov. 15 in the second round.

Fourth-year head coach Anel Lilic's program steadily built to this point, improving its overall record each season. A year ago, the Nighthawks won the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) regular-season championship. This season, they were the No. 2 seed in the PBC and fell 1-0 to Flagler in the Nov. 7 PBC title game.

UNG showed its potential in non-conference play with victories against nationally ranked Auburn-Montgomery and Palm Beach Atlantic and a tie against nationally ranked Florida Tech. In conference play, UNG secured a 3-3 tie against top-10 Flagler before falling 2-0 later in the season ahead of the third matchup in the PBC championship.

The Nighthawks reached the PBC title game thanks to a 3-2 overtime victory against Clayton State in a Nov. 4 PBC semifinal.

Senior midfielder Isaac Calderon (10 goals, 4 assists) and senior midfielder Rafael Kawata (8 goals, 4 assists) lead UNG statistically ahead of the NCAA tournament.