PEMBROKE – Visiting North Georgia outshot UNCP 28-10 and played with a man advantage for the final 50 minutes of the contest, but the Braves used an unbreakable defense to hold the Saints off the scoreboard en route to a 0-0 tie on Saturday afternoon at Varsity Grounds.
The result handed UNCP (5-8-4, 1-5-2 PBC) the No. 7 seed in next week's PBC Tournament, while North Georgia (8-5-4, 2-4-2) will head into the postseason gala as the No. 6 seed. The draw kept the series at a 2-2-3 deadlock, with the Saints extending their unbeaten streak against the Black and Gold out to three games as well. It was the second-straight year that the contest between the two squads has ended in a double overtime stalemate.
"I am proud of the team's performance, especially after losing Alex early in the second half," said UNCP head coach Phil Hindson. "We stuck with them and we played very well especially in the last 30 minutes of the game. We now need to get focused for the playoffs and prepare ourselves so we are ready for the next challenge."
UNCP goalkeeper Ryan Hanson proved up to the challenge on all eight shots on goal by the Saints en route to registering his third clean sheet of the campaign. The Saints got a 3-save outing from netminder Rade Tanaskovic in the draw as well. Jesy Phelps (six shots) and Juan Hurtado combined to tally 11 of North Georgia's 28 shots in the contest, while the Braves were led by Brett Luccia and Ricardo Arias who turned in two shots apiece.
North Georgia tallied a 12-6 advantage in the shots column in the second half, as well as a 12-1 disparity in extra time. The squads combined for 28 fouls, including 16 by the Saints.
Andrew Brown recorded the first shot on target for either team 31 minutes into the first half, but the opportunity signaled a flurry of offensive action that all went for naught. The teams would trade offensive opportunities for the opening 10 minutes of the second half, until Alex Antonescu was sent off the pitch following a hard foul on a battle in the air. The man advantage would deliver an 8-2 shot advantage for the visitors, but very little else.
Taking the momentum into the overtime period, North Georgia would find 12 of the 13 strikes in the extra time, with Hanson easily collecting both shots that went on target.
The Braves will now make the trek to Greenwood, S.C., on Tuesday to battle second-seeded Lander (11-6-0, 7-1-0) in the opening round of the PBC Tournament. Game time has been set for 6:30 p.m. at Bearcat Field. Tuesday's contest will mark the ninth postseason meeting between the two squads since 1992, with the Bearcats holding a 5-2-1 advantage in those contests.
