GREENWOOD, S.C. – Ilija Ilic and Niall McCabe teamed up to lead No. 3-ranked Young Harris College past Lander University 2-1 in a Peach Belt Conference men's soccer match Wednesday (Oct. 23) evening at the Jeff May Complex.
The Mountain Lions improved to 12-1-0 overall and to into first place in the conference at 6-0-0 with their 10th consecutive win. Lander fell to 8-3-1 and 4-3-0. Young Harris opens a three-game homestand to end the regular season Saturday (Oct. 26) when they host the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in a 12:30 p.m. league contest at the Frances Wood Wilson Soccer and Lacrosse Field.
"I'm very pleased with the win tonight as Lander is a remarkably talented team," said Young Harris head coach Mark McKeever. "We defended well in the second half and the winning goal was as good as we have scored this season. My expectations of Niall McCabe and Ilija Ilic are very high and they have provided in every match they have played."
Lander jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 11:40 mark when Clement Dauchy netted his 11th goal of the season and was assisted by Brett Jankouskas.
Ilic, who is second in Peach Belt in goals (15) and is tied for the lead in points scored (34), tied the match at 1 when he headed in a shot off an assist from Niall McCabe at with 2:30 remaining before halftime. Ilic and McCabe teamed up again for the winning score, another shot in front of the goal, at the 60:57 mark. McCabe leads the league with 13 assists.
Young Harris outshot Lander, 13-12, while Lander led in corner kicks, 6-4. Both goalkeepers, Lander's Barrett Nielsen and YHC's Pedro Ozi, had four saves.
