UNG Men's Soccer Team Wins Season Opener

The University of North Georgia's men's soccer team started its season with a 2-0 win on Aug. 27, against the Barry University Buccaneers. UNG matched Barry's passing offense with a defense that held the strikers at bay, and North Georgia's offense was an even matchup against Barry's defense. At about 5 1/2 minutes into the game, No. 7 Maxwell Mitchell launched an attack on Barry's goal. Later in the game, around the 10-minute mark, No. 3 Pavle Radojkovic had a corner kick that nearly went into the goal. UNG's offensive onslaught continued in the minute 19 with a shot on goal by No. 13 Aram Lara who came very close with a shot on goal. UNG men prepare to open the season against Barry University. Photo by Thatcher Crowder The UNG offense continued its pursuit with shots on goal by No. 10 Isaac Calderon at minute 21 and another shot by Lara in minute 25. It wasn't all UNG, however; in minute 27, the Barry offense moved down the field and almost scored with a bicycle kick, but the UNG defense was able to redirect the ball away from the goal. Later, in minute 29, Mitchell again took a close shot on goal, followed by Lara's shot on goal in minute 30. In minute 35, No. 77 Rafael Kawata took a shot that hit the crossbar. Before the end of the half, UNG's No. 14 Dženan Cerimagic came up short on a score attempt . The game went into halftime at 0-0. 'I liked what I saw out of our boys there in the first half. They played with aggression and poise, and I think we're gonna see them really turn on the jets in the second half.' – David Carlyle, a fan attending the game. UNG's men's team giving it their all in the season opener. Photo by Thatcher Crowder UNG started off the second half with a shot that hit the side post. The near miss was followed by UNG's first goal, scored by Kawata. A scuffle broke out immediately following the goal and was quickly broken up by officials and teammates. UNG's Calderon followed with another goal in minute 62. Barry's Juan Wagner got a red card, after receiving a yellow card earlier in the game, for a denied scoring attempt. No. 32 Brayden Barnett had a close shot in minute 79. Barry answered back with a close shot of their own in minute 83. UNG scored another goal in minute 84, but it was disallowed because UNG was offside.