ST. AUGUSTINE – The Flagler College men's soccer team will open the NCAA Division II Super Region No. 2 against Young Harris College on Friday at 3 p.m. at the PBA Soccer/Lacrosse Field in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The winner of this first round match will take on the No. 1 seed Palm Beach Atlantic University on Sunday at 3 p.m.

The Mountain Lions lead the all-time series 10-2-2, but the Saints won the last meeting 1-0 on Oct. 3, 2022 at Saints Field. Young Harris competed in the Peach Belt Conference from 2012 to 2022.

Flagler (13-2-6) is the No. 8 seed as it earned the Peach Belt Conference's automatic berth to the national tournament with a 2-1 overtime win at the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega. The Saints are 8-0-3 in their last 11 matches and the 13 wins are the most in the program's history since the storybook 2011 season when they won 17 matches and advanced to the national quarterfinal round. This is Flagler's seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and second in a row.

The Saints had six all-conference honorees, including the PBC's Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in Filip Hornburg. He helped lead a back four that recorded eight shutouts. Hornburg scored five goals and tallied two assists. Ryan Rivas, a junior goalkeeper, joined Hornburg on the all-conference first team. He holds a 1.00 goal-against average and an 81.0 save percentage. Rivas has eight clean sheets this season. Finn Weigelt earned second-team All-PBC honors after scoring four goals with one assist. Gustav Moberg scored a goal and tallied two assists while Alex Alexandrou has scored three goals as is tied for the team-lead with six assists. Limestone University transfer Daniel Becerra has three goals and three assists for the Saints.

Young Harris (15-1-3) is the No. 9 seed after winning the Conference Carolinas postseason tournament. The Mountain Lions have reeled off five consecutive wins, which includes a 3-1 triumph over North Greenville University that punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Young Harris is led by the Conference Carolinas' Offensive Player of the Year, Thomas Kleinpenning. He leads the team with 37 points thanks to 12 goals and 13 assists. The Mountain Lions boasted nine all-conference selections and Dean Grey as named the league's coach of the year. Leho Le Louarn leads the team with 13 goals and has six assists. Filip Zander has scored 10 goals and tallied 10 assists. The Mountain Lions have used two different goalkeepers this year. James Dee has nine starts, holds a 1.34 GAA, and has a 72.7 save percentage. Stathis Paplomatas has started the other 10 matches and holds a 1.20 GAA and has three shutouts.  Young Harris leads the nation with a 3.42 goals per match average and in total goals (65).  

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