GREENWOOD, S.C. – Lander capitalized on an early injury to one of UNCP's top players with a pair of second half goals that lifted the second-seeded Bearcats past the sixth-seeded Lady Braves with a 2-0 victory Tuesday afternoon in the first round of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament at the LU Soccer Field.

Lander (13-4-0) got goals from Stacey Copeland and Valarie Smith to post their second-straight victory over UNCP (12-6-1), marking the first time that the Bearcats have recorded consecutive series wins since the 2001 and 2002 seasons.

Lander goalkeeper Rachel Hine stopped all five UNCP shots on goal to post her league-leading eighth shutout of the season. Whitney Beverly had three saves in the loss for the Lady Braves.

UNCP's Jamie Clarke suffered a game-ending injury in just the third minute of play. Clarke entered the PBC Tournament with a conference-best 10 assists.

“It certainly doesn't help when your field general gets knocked out of the game after just two-and-a-half minutes,” said UNCP head coach Lars Andersson. “We played a good first half, but just weren't able to hold them off in the second half. I thought Lander played a very good game. They are a very good team and I wish them all the best on Friday against Armstrong Atlantic.”

Copeland netted an unassisted goal in the 47th minute to give the hosts a lead they would never relinquish in a game that saw Lander outshoot the visitors by a 14-12 margin. Just more than 12 minutes later, Smith would provide the insurance goal off an assist from Copeland.

With Lander's triumph, the top four seeds in the PBC Tournament advanced through to Friday's semifinal round at Columbus State. Second-seeded Armstrong Atlantic will battle Lander in the 4:30 p.m. contest, while top-seeded Columbus State will take on Georgia College in the other semifinal at 7.