DAHLONEGA – The University of North Georgia (UNG) women's soccer team finished the 2024 regular season at the UNG Soccer Field at Lynn Cottrell Park with a 1-1 draw against Lander Monday night. 

The Nighthawks end the season with a 10-3-2 record and a 5-2-2 mark in conference play. This marks the third consecutive year with double-digit wins for UNG.

The Nighthawks finish the regular season in second place in the Peach Belt Conference. They have finished in the top three of the league for nine of the last 11 seasons and in four of five years under head coach Kayley Ralton.

Despite the draw, UNG posted another impressive defensive performance on Monday against the Bearcats. The Nighthawks allowed just one shot in the entire game. It came in the first 30 seconds of the match as Lander scored thanks to Angele Hills. UNG did not allow another shot for the rest of the game.

After trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Nighthawks turned up the pressure in the second half. 

Eventually in the 68th minute, sophomore Grace McGill finally broke through on the scoreboard for UNG.

Junior midfielder Adleigh Wheeler found the ball in the midfield after a deflection landed in her lap. She turned up-field and delivered a clean pass to McGill. Once she received the ball with a defender on her hip, McGill spun to her left past a pair of Bearcat defenders.

From the border of the penalty box, McGill released a right-footed shot that curved towards the goal. Lander keeper Leah Hayes Coen dove to her right and tipped the shot, but it was not enough as McGill powered it through the deflection and into the back of the net to even the contest at 1-1.

The goal is McGill's second of the season while Wheeler earned her third assist of the year which ties the team high. 

The draw moved Lander up to fifth place in the league, meaning the second-place Nighthawks will host seventh-seeded Georgia Southwestern in the first round of the 2024 PBC Tournament. UNG will look to avenge a 1-0 loss it suffered against the Hurricanes back on Oct. 19. The action begins Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. from the UNG Soccer Field at Lynn Cottrell Park.