Box Score

LAWRENCEVILLE - After battling through a scoreless first half on Saturday afternoon, the 11th-ranked Georgia Gwinnett men's soccer team couldn't repeat the effort in the second stanza as No. 19 Northwestern Ohio found the back of the net three times to eliminate the Grizzlies from the NAIA National Championship tournament at Grizzly Soccer Complex.

"We survived the first half and we were confident going into the second, but we never really got going," GGC Head Coach Steve DeCou said. "We made too many mistakes. We had some bad passes out of the back and some turnovers that led to chances. It was just one of those days. It was just a perfect storm, and Northwestern Ohio took advantage of it and finished off their chances."

With the loss, the Grizzlies end the season with a 12-3-2 record, marking the third straight that GGC has notched 12 or more wins. UNOH improved to 16-4-1 and advances to next month's NAIA Championship final site.

"It was still a great season for us," DeCou continued. "We won a conference championship and got to host a national tournament game. We were one of 30 teams playing today, and at this point, only one team gets to end their season with a win."

The Racers started the match with a decided advantage as Lewis Sharpe put on an impressive goalkeeping display to keep things level. The Englishman, who was just a week removed from taking home Most Outstanding Player honors at the conference tournament, tallied six saves in the first period as UNOH out-shot the host 12-2.

Sharpe would finish the day with eight stops.

The assault on the GGC goal would continue into the second half when Carlos Monterrey eventually broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute. Sergio Royo followed up eight minutes later off a feed from Josh Scully as the visitors became the first team to notch more than one goal against the Green and Gray since August 30.

Pascal Debowiak secured the victory for UNOH in the 78th, handing GGC its first home loss in 13 months.

GGC will now head into the offseason, but the 2014 campaign will remain one for the history books as the team became the first in school history to repeat as A.I.I. champions and just the second to host a round in the NAIA postseason.

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