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EVANS, Ga. – Three first-half goals and a quick strike in the second stanza pushed the third-seeded and No. 17 North Georgia Nighthawks past the UNC Pembroke women's soccer team in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) semifinals Friday night at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans.

The Braves (12-4-2) were making their fifth semifinal appearance in program history, while the Nighthawks (14-1-3) advance to the league championship game against top-seed and No. 5 Columbus State. The Black & Gold will now have to rely on an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

"I want to congratulate North Georgia on advancing to the championship game," UNCP head coach Lars Andersson said. "They are a well-coached and very talented team."

North Georgia jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the seventh-minute and then scored 53 seconds later to extend the advantage to 2-0. The Nighthawks made it a clean trio in the opening half with a tally in the 21st-minute. Just 96 seconds after the halftime break, the squad from Dahlonega made it a four-goal advantage and never looked back. It's the first time the Braves have been shutout since the season's second contest on Sept. 7, a span of 15 games. 

"We just didn't have enough energy to match North Georgia's enthusiasm tonight," Andersson said. "After the stretch of games we've been through recently, we just didn't have anything left on our legs.
"That being said, our team battled harder than I could have ever asked. They gave everything they had left in the tank tonight for our fans, athletic department and UNCP."

PBC Freshman of the Year Gina Ryan made three saves in net for the Black & Gold. Redshirt-junior Courtney Crump, sophomore Stacey Scott and redshirt-freshman Kristina Stevenson each attempted a pair of shots, both of Stevenson's on goal.

UNCP was outshot 14-9 by the Nighthawks, and the Braves racked up four shots-on-goal, all in the second half. North Georgia took six corner kicks, while the Black & Gold attempted three.

The Division II women's soccer selection show is Monday at 6 p.m. and can be streamed live at ncaa.com. UNCP was ranked fourth in the latest Southeast Region poll. The tournament champions from the PBC, Conference Carolinas and South Atlantic Conference each get an automatic bid and three at-large bids are awarded.

"We can only hope the NCAA selection committee will recognize the journey we've had in the last three weeks," Andersson said. "We'll keep our fingers crossed that our season continues next week."

"I'm so proud of these kids," Andersson said. "They are so talented and work so hard. They have been an amazing group to work with and I hope we can continue to show that next week."