LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The University of North Georgia (UNG) men's soccer team concluded its 2024 regular season with a non-conference draw against Georgia Gwinnett College Saturday afternoon. 

It was a 2-2 draw that concluded the regular season for both the Nighthawks and Grizzlies. UNG ends its first year under full-time head coach Anel Lilic at 8-5-3 overall with a 6-3-1 Peach Belt Conference record.

For the first time since 2016, the Nighthawks finished in second place in the PBC standings and earned a bye into the PBC Tournament Semifinal round. 

Saturday's showdown with GGC served as a tune-up game as Lilic's squad will now get 13 days off before it takes the field again on Friday, Nov. 15. 

The Nighthawks opened the scoring first in the contest, thanks to a corner kick conversion from junior forward Tyler Vitelli. After the original cross into the box rattled around amongst the traffic in the box, Vitelli found the ball and buried it into the back of the net for his first goal of the season. Junior defender Christian Carlton and junior midfielder Miguel Romero each tallied an assist on the ninth-minute score.

UNG's lead would not hold long as the Grizzlies' Amadou Diop netted his second goal of the season in the 16th minute. 

The game would remain tied at 1-1 for only nine seconds as a miscommunication defensively from GGC led to an own goal, giving UNG a 2-1 advantage.

The Nighthawks would hold onto the lead through halftime and into the opening stages of the second frame. That is until Diop found the net for a second time in the game in the 54th minute, leveling the contest at 2-2.

Neither team was able to find the net in the remainder of the game, ending in the ultimate 2-2 draw. 

As UNG prepares for the PBC Tournament, it will await the results of the final PBC regular season games to determine the finalization of the conference tournament bracket.

Come Nov. 15 in Morrow, Ga., the Nighthawks will face the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between third-seeded and sixth-seeded teams. Flagler has already secured a spot in that matchup as the three-seed. Either Georgia Southwestern or USC Aiken will secure the six-seed in the coming days. UNG is a combined 5-0-1 against Flagler, GSW and USC Aiken this season.