DAHLONEGA – The No. 22 University of North Georgia women's soccer game handled Young Harris Wednesday evening at the UNG Soccer Field at Lynn Cottrell Park. The Nighthawks took down YH by a score of 7-0 and simply dominated in all facets.

Wednesday was simply an onslaught of offense, a barrage of boots, a totality of top-shelf scoring. It was also a flood of firsts. Of the seven goals the Nighthawks netted, six came as a player's first of the season. Head coach Kayley Ralton's offense has now seen nine different scorers make marks on the score sheet this season. 

Right from the jump, sophomore forward Chloe Diaz set the tone with an early goal. Diaz found her first tally of the season with patience and placement. After a far side corner kick bounced over a jumble of players, Diaz was waiting inside the box on the right wing. She calmly took a touch, stepped and fired a rocket that anyone would be ill advised to jump in front. Two and a half minutes into the game and it was already 1-0 UNG.

A little over four minutes later, junior midfielder Alex Clark would bask in a goal celebration for her first time of the year. On a perfect feed from Diaz that was threaded between two defenders, Clark received the ball in stride just a few paces beyond the box on the left wing. She stepped and aimed the ball past Mountain Lion keeper Mckenna Peaster to make it 2-0. 

All in attendance quickly began to realize that the game may get out of hand and rather quickly. However, YH held the Nighthawks in check for a large portion of the first half. 

While the Mountain Lion chances were held to a minimum, it would be another 30 minutes before UNG found the back of the net again. This time, it was freshman forward Nina Lopez. 

Lopez, who scored in her first-ever collegiate game in a 2-1 win against UNC Pembroke, dazzled the audience again with her second marker. She found herself in no man's land and appeared unsure what she should do. So she did what she does best. Lopez turned toward the goal and simply weaved in, out, around and through anything that was in her path. When she found an opening (despite freshman teammate Sam Cottle in point blank range), Lopez drilled the ball as Peaster could do little but reach for a ball she never stood a chance against. 

Lopez's sparkling play made it 3-0 UNG with less than nine minutes to go in the first half. 

Despite the time constraints, junior transfer Bailey Oetinger decided it was her turn to join in on the fun. The once Lipscomb forward saw an opportunity when a loose ball plunked down at her feet on the precipice of the attacking zone. Oetinger turned and whizzed into the box before the defense could blink. With a simple outside touch she avoided the only defender who had a chance to stop her and served the ball into the left side of the goal, cementing a 4-0 lead before the break. 

Oetinger stopped, turned back to her teammates, jumped up with both feet and raised her arms to the sky. The joy of a junior transfer making a contribution in the box score for the first time with her new team. 

Out of halftime, Ralton wisely elected to give her reserve players the bulk of the second half minutes. They made the most of the opportunity as three freshmen each scored the first goal of their careers. 

First it was forward Charlie Morgan who took the spotlight. Just minutes before she actually did get a goal, Morgan had a perfect opportunity to celebrate her first. She was in a great spot to receive a cross and did so, but as she went for the shot, the ball sailed high off her foot and over the net. A blunder that most freshmen might let bother them. Not Morgan. It made her hungrier. 

Over the next few minutes, she chased the ball through YH's back line like a dog after a squirrel. Eventually she got it after a crisp tackle in enemy territory, just outside the penalty box. Morgan did not hesitate as she saw a window to the net immediately after the tackle. Towering over the defender she just embarrassed, Morgan planted and powered the ball into the upper right corner of the net. A statement goal from a rookie who's name will be known by many in the near future. 

After Morgan it was forward Sam Cottle's turn. Cottle, a 60 goal scorer at LaGrange High School, got the first of many after tenacious pressure on the Mountain Lion back line. As the Nighthawks kept their foot on the gas pedal, Cottle consistently found herself with chances to score. The best chance came when sophomore teammate Angie Garcia's shot was saved by YH goalkeeper Kaylie Hayes. The redirection went straight to Cottle who was waiting just to Hayes' right as she easily buried the ball to improve UNG's advantage to 6-0. 

Finally, freshman forward Kamora Hall made an impact. Hall, a three-time national champion at the club level during her high school years, is an imposing presence on the attack for the Nighthawks. She's big, physical, determined and plays with a swagger few posses. She rarely sees an opportunity that doesn't fancy her eye and on Wednesday, she got one that fancied everyone's eyes as well. 

After a collision with Cottle and a Mountain Lion defender, Hall served as the cavalry on the play, scooping up the ball with GPS coordinates located for the net. As the keeper Hayes came off her line, Hall calmly scooted the ball by her to lock in the win that had already been decided well in advance. 

Diaz, Clark, Oetinger, Morgan, Cottle and Hall all scored their first goals of the season in the win while Lopez was the only repeat offender. 

Now, all seven of them will look to keep the momentum with a very difficult challenge on the horizon. Florida Tech – who was the No. 3 team in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches (USC) preseason poll and is now out of the top-25 despite a season-opening win – comes to town on Sunday, Sep. 15. Kick off from the UNG Soccer Field at Lynn Cottrell Park is scheduled for 4 p.m.