YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – Ilija Ilic scored twice as Young Harris College defeated Pfeiffer University 6-0 in the second round of the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship Sunday (Nov. 16) afternoon at the YHC Soccer and Lacrosse Field.
The Mountain Lions, ranked No. 2 nationally and the No. 1 seed in the region, improved to 18-0-1 while No. 5 seed Pfeiffer ended its season and first appearance in the championship with a 17-5-1 ledger. Young Harris will face Limestone in the third round of the tournament later this week. The exact time, dates and locations will be announced by the NCAA.
The Mountain Lions used set pieces on two corner kicks and a penalty kick to open up a 3-0 lead at the half.
"I thought Pfeiffer made it difficult for us in the first half," said YHC head coach Mark McKeever. "They pressured the ball high and in numbers which really stopped us from playing out game. There were three impact plays – two corner kicks and the penalty kick) that changed the flow of the game."
Young Harris, which was also making its first-ever appearance in the tournament, took a 1-0 lead on an Ilic header at the 19:52 mark. Lewis Hilton sent the ball in from the left side on a corner kick to Paco Craig at the top of the box and he found Ilic, who put it in the left corner of the net. The Mountain Lions doubled their lead on another corner kick that resulted in a Paco Craig goal – his seventh of the season - at the 41:19 mark. Craig's goal was set up by an Alex Wyper corner kick from the right side that found Samuel Mansour at the back post and Mansour headed the ball to Craig.
The final goal of the half came on an Ilic penalty kick with 56 seconds remaining after an YHC player was fouled in the box. It was Ilic's 24th goal – tops in NCAA Division II.
The Mountain Lions added three goals in the second half.
"The second half we were able to settle in to our game and move the ball like we should," said McKeever.
Young Harris, which outshot the Falcons 18-6, got goals from Hilton (sixth) and Jonas Sturesson (first) in a two-minute stretch to open a 5-0 lead at the 49:23 mark. The final tally for the Mountain Lions came when Kendall Carballo scored his 10th of the year at the 80:34 mark.
Jordan Bradshaw and Anton Vidén combined for the 10th shutout by the Mountain Lions this season. Bradshaw had three saves while Vidén had one for Young Harris, while Nicolas Dulac had four for Pfeiffer.
