2017-18 PBC YEARBOOK
Men ’ s Soccer
LANDER CLAIMS PBC MEN ’ S SOCCER TOURNAMENT TITLE IN PK SHOOTOUT
EVANS , GA – Following the longest PK shootout in PBC Tournament history , the Lander Bearcats claimed the 2017 men ’ s soccer title over North Georgia at Blanchard Woods Park on Sunday . The game ended in a 1-1 tie following 90 minutes of regulation and two overtime periods , leading to the PK shootout . Both teams converted their first eight PK attempts and Thibault Chretien scored the ninth in a row for Lander . The ninth UNG attempt went off the crossbar , giving Lander the title .
Lander earns the PBC ’ s first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament . The Bearcats ( 12-3-2 ) had played in the PBC final the last two years and win their fifth overall championship . North Georgia sees their season come to an end with a 10-7-1 overall mark .
After a scoreless first half , Lander got on the scoreboard first in the second half . Chretien ’ s shot at the 69:33 mark bounced off the crossbar to the feet of Jamie Lunn , who nudged it over just as UNG keeper Matt Sharman arrived .
The score remained 1-0 until North Georgia ’ s pressure caused a Lander own goal to tie the game . The Nighthawks ’ Daniel Bennett fired a shot into a crowded goal box which bounced off a Lander defender into the goal .
Both teams had scoring opportunities in the overtime periods . Five shots clanged off the crossbar from both teams an each had open-goal shots that sailed wide or high . Lander thought they had the game won at the end of the second overtime , but the ball crossed the line just after the final horn had sounded .
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