DAHLONEGA -- University of North Georgia men's soccer sophomore midfielder Aram Lara has been named as the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week this week as announced by the league office on Monday.

Thanks to a dazzling goal from Lara in the final minutes of a home match against Lander, UNG defeated the Bearcats 2-1 and clinched a second-place finish in the Peach Belt Conference for just the second time in program history.

A loss would've meant a third place finish in the PBC for the Nighthawks, which meant they entered Wednesday's showdown needing to defeat a Lander team they had beaten just one time (Oct. 27, 2021) in the last 12 years.

Lara's first goal of the season came after a redirected corner attempt. In the midfield but shaded towards the far side, Lara collected the ball and assessed the situation. One touch to his left gave him a path to the goal while simultaneously removing a defender from the equation. Without hesitation, he took his shot. It was a liner that skipped off the turf before meeting the keeper. Despite the Bearcat goalie covering the left side of the goal, Lara slipped it past him, slotting the ball perfectly between the keeper and the left post. 

With the weekly honor from the conference, Lara becomes the fifth Nighthawk to earn a weekly award from the PBC this season. That's the most weekly awards UNG has earned in a single season in program history.

Now, Lara and the Nighthawks will will prepare for the PBC Conference Tournament after securing a bye in the bracket. The Nighthawks will take the field in Morrow, Ga. at host Clayton State on Friday, Nov. 15 against either Flagler, Georgia Southwestern or USC Aiken. UNG is a combined 5-0-1 against those three teams this season.