AIKEN, S.C. – Four first-half goals, two off the foot of sophomore midfielder Mackenzie Wright, vaulted the UNC Pembroke women's soccer squad over USC Aiken Wednesday evening at Pacer Pit in a Peach Belt Conference (PBC) battle.

The victory keeps the Braves (10-2-2, 8-0-2 PBC) unbeaten in league play and improves their series advantage to 13-0-3 over the Pacers (4-13, 2-9 PBC). The hosts have now dropped four straight contests and have yet to win a home tilt this season. With the win, the Black & Gold clinch at least a No. 5-seed in the upcoming conference tournament, set to begin Nov. 2. UNCP is still in reach of the regular-season PBC title.

"Tonight's game went as well as we could've possibly imagined," head coach Lars Andersson said. "I have all the respect in the world for USC Aiken. Nothing in the PBC is free, it all has to be earned. The women understood this was a business trip and we came away with the three points we needed."

Redshirt-junior Courtney Crump opened the scoring in the third-minute, beating Pacer defenders down the right side before firing from five yards out. It's her third goal of the season, all coming in the last four games.

Wright's first tally came in the 29th-minute when her corner kick went through the USC Aiken goalkeeper's hands and into the back of the net. The Liberty native extended the UNCP advantage to 3-0 in the 42nd-minute after taking a pass from freshman Kaitlin Plienis down the left side and burying it home. Wright is now tied for the team lead with five goals and is tops on the squad with 15 points. The assist was Plienis' first of the year.

Not satisfied with just an assist, Plienis put the dagger in the Pacers with a 45th-minute goal to send the Braves into the break with a 4-0 lead. Crump found the Swansboro native alone in the middle of the field and Plienis did the rest, her third goal of the season and Crump's first assist.

The lofty halftime advantage allowed Andersson to rest many of his regular starters for the duration of the season half, a much-needed commodity with the Braves in the middle of an eight-game, 16-day stretch.

"We made it clear that we needed to score a couple of goals early so we could rest some legs after going the distance with North Georgia and Armstrong State," Andersson said. "The depth of our roster will be crucial going forward. We played almost our entire roster tonight, so hopefully it allowed us to save some energy and legs for our upcoming Friday and Sunday games."

Black & Gold freshman keeper Gina Ryan notched her sixth shutout of the season on six saves. Her PBC-leading save percentage improves to .917, while her league-best goals against average falls to 0.46. The Cape Carteret native is ranked among the nation's top five in save percentage.

The Braves out shot USC Aiken 13-11 and each side took five corner kicks. The UNCP offensive attack was ruled offside 10 times. Junior Kate Weisner paced the guests with three shots, while Crump, Wright and junior Katie Watkins each attempted a pair of shots.

UNCP continues its march for a league title Friday with a trip to St. Augustine, Florida for a duel with Flagler. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. at Saints Field. The Saints (6-4-3, 5-3-2) currently sit sixth in the PBC standings and have won two-straight contests. The Braves hold a 4-2-1 advantage in series history with Flagler.