The Georgia Men’s Club Soccer team won its first region championship in club history last weekend in the NIRSA Soccer Region II Qualifying Tournament in East Ridge, Tenn.

In a region that includes over 100 club teams from across the southeast, the Bulldogs were one of only 16 teams invited to take part in the weekend tournament.

The Bulldogs (12-0-1) squared off against Florida (15-3-0) on Sunday in the title match and battled hard against the Gators to ultimately take the region championship by a score of 1-0.

After a scoreless first half in which the Gators applied relentless pressure on Georgia’s defensive end, senior midfielder Brian Griffin scored the game’s only goal in the 60th minute of the match to give the Bulldogs the lead.

“It came off of a free kick from about 20 yards out and I just curved the ball around the wall and it went in,” Griffin said. “I actually didn’t know it went in when I hit it because I lost sight of the ball. I knew it had a shot but I didn’t know for sure until everyone started celebrating.”

From there Georgia stepped up its defensive pressure to hang on for the victory that capped off a spectacular weekend for the Bulldogs that saw them win six matches and outscore their opponents by a combined score of 12-2.

Griffin, a pharmacy major from Marietta, was the difference maker for the Georgia offense as he not only scored the game winning goal against the Gators, but also managed to net the only two goals in the semifinal match against Tennessee.

In group play, Georgia breezed by Kennesaw State in its first match of the weekend by a score of 5-0 before squaring off against the No. 1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in its second match on Saturday.

Group play continued on Saturday as the Bulldogs downed the top-ranked Tar Heels and the Auburn Tigers by identical scores of 2-1 to advance to the quarterfinals against the Miami Hurricanes later that night.

Goalie Michael White, a Peachtree City native, blocked three Miami penalty kicks to ensure the victory for Georgia, 4-3 in overtime.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs took down the Tennessee Volunteers in their semifinal meeting by a score of 2-0.

Despite missing two starters due to injury, including senior midfielder and team captain Charlie Steward, Georgia was able to come together as a team and refuse to lose.

“I mean, we pretty much dominated every team we played this weekend,” senior forward Joe Hampl said. “We had to play without Charlie, but we’re a pretty deep team, and that’s our biggest strength I think.”

With the region championship, Georgia gained an automatic bid to the NIRSA Club Soccer National Championships in Tempe, Ariz., Nov. 19-22

The 24-team tournament will crown the 2009 National Champion, and, according to some of the senior leaders, the Bulldogs can’t wait to get to the desert and test their mettle against the nation’s best.

“I am thrilled at the prospect of going to Tempe,” Griffin said.

“I’m pumped. It’s the chance of a lifetime. We went to Nationals two years ago and really feel like we have a shot this time,” Hampl said.

For more information, contact the club at www.ugamenssoccer.com