GREENWOOD – The Lander men's soccer team begins postseason play with a match against North Georgia at home on November 6.

QUICK HITTERS

Location: Greenwood, S.C. (Van Taylor Stadium)

Time: 4 pm

Lander's Record: 10-7-0, 7-5-0 PBC

North Georgia's Record: 6-10-1, 3-8-1 PBC

First Met: Oct. 21, 1983 (6-2 Lander)

Last Met: Oct. 27, 2021 (4-2 UNG)

Last Five Against UNG: 4-1-0

Tickets for the event will be $10 each and can be purchased exclusively online HERE. Admission is free for students with a valid ID from a PBC school and children 5 and under. Tickets will not be sold at the venue and must be purchased ahead of time. Fans can have their tickets scanned from their phones or print out their tickets.

Lander all-access sports passes and faculty/staff are not valid for free entry into PBC Tournament games.

STORYLINES

• Lander is coming off a 3-1 victory over Flagler on Senior Day.
• Max McNulty, Tom Marriott and Max Bolton all scored goals.
• After defeating Flagler, The Bearcats now have 35 winning seasons in program history, 26 seasons with a winning record in the PBC, seven consecutive winning seasons and 31 seasons with 10 or more wins. The men's soccer team is now at 498 all-time wins as a program and 148 wins in the PBC.
• Marriott is up to 16 goals, 10 assists and 42 points this season. He is now tied with Clement Dauchy for the most goals scored since 2010 and is just the third Bearcat since 2006 to hit or surpass 40 points.
• McNulty is second on the team in goals and points with 11 and 26.
• Lander has made the PBC Tournament seven consecutive seasons. The last time the Bearcats failed to reach the postseason was the 2014 season when they went 6-6-2 overall and 2-5-2 in the PBC.
• The Bearcats will be facing the Nighthawks for just the second time in the PBC Tournament. The last time these two faced each other in postseason action was during the 2017 PBC Tournament. Lander and North Georgia were tied 1-1 through regulation and two overtime periods, but the Bearcats came away with a victorious 9-8 on penalty kicks and claimed the PBC Tournament.
• The Bearcats split the season series against North Georgia this season. Lander came away with a 3-2 victory on the road to begin conference play while the Nighthawks got the better of Lander at Van Taylor Stadium on Oct. 27, winning 4-2.
• Marriott has scored three goals and one assist against North Georgia this season.
• The Bearcats will look to its high-scoring offense to propel them past the Nighthawks. Lander is 7-0-0 when scoring three or more goals this season.
• On the season, the Bearcats have scored 42 goals, the second most behind Young Harris' 47 in the PBC.
• Although holding Lander to a pair of goals the last time around, North Georgia has allowed 41 goals this season, the second-most behind USC Aiken's 48.
• Lander has allowed 28 goals this season. That is the third most allowed since 2002 when Lander allowed 35 goals. The Bearcats also allowed 30 goals during the 2005 and 2009 seasons. 
• Jacob Withers has established himself as the starter for the Bearcats after not playing the first half of the season. The veteran keeper has played in nine games while making seven starts. In 743 minutes of action, he holds a 5-2-0 record with 21 saves and 10 goals allowed. He has also collected three shutouts.
• Of its 42 goals scored this season, Lander has tallied 25 of those after the first half. 
• The Bearcats have done better this season when scoring first and leading at the half. When first to score, Lander is 7-3-0 compared to 3-4-0 when not. When leading at the half, the Bearcats are 6-0-0 compared to 1-5-0 when trailing and 3-2-0 when tied.
• The Bearcats currently have two of the top-three scorers in the conference. Marriott is second behind Flagler's Matteo Costa's 17 goals. McNulty is tied for third with Saad Maziane of Young Harris.
• Marriott is also second in the PBC in assists, trailing on Geo Rios' 11 of Clayton State. Marriott also leads the PBC in points (42) and points per game (2.47).
• Marriott is currently fifth among active Div. II players for career points. He has 91 points going into the match.
• As a team, the Bearcats are 10th in the nation for assists per game, 13th in points per game, 20th in scoring offense, 7th in total assists, 13th in total goals and 10th in total points.
• Lander also has players ranked highly in multiple categories nationally. Marriott and Marco Gueli are 16th and 25th in assists per game. Marriott is also 15th in the nation in game-winning goals along with being 12th in shot accuracy, 13th in shots on goal and 9th in shots on goal per game. Marriott and Gueli rank in the top-20 for total assists, with Marriott ranked 7th and Gueli ranked 17th. Marriott and McNulty hade in the top-25 for total goals, with Marriott ranked 5th in the nation and McNulty ranked 23rd. Marriott and McNulty are also in the top-20 for total points, with Marriott ranked third and McNulty 20th.
• North Georgia is coming off a 2-1 loss to USC Aiken to conclude the regular season.
• The Nighthawks finished the regular season with an overall record of 6-10-1.
• Donovan Odier is the leading scorer for North Georiga. Starting in 11 games, he has 10 goals and on assists on the season for 21 points.
• Gustavo Alencar, Gabriel Campora and Victor Galterio all have 10 or more points this season for the Nighthawks.
• Garrett Liles has started and played in 13 games in goal for North Georgia this season. In 1179 minutes of action, he has made 54 saves while allowing 32 goals. Liles has a GAA of 2.44 and a 5-8-0 record.
• The winner of this game will face Clayton State in the PBC Tournament semifinals in Evan, Ga., on Friday, November 12.