AIKEN, S.C. – Brittany Padilla scored a penalty kick goal in the 67th minute of play to give visiting UNCP a 3-0 lead, but the Lady Braves were forced to hold back a furious rally by USC Aiken before posting a 3-2 victory over the Pacers on Wednesday evening at the Pacer Pit.

Anna Svensson scored her 10th and 11th goals of the season for UNCP (9-1-1, 4-1-0 PBC) who stretched its unbeaten streak out to seven games. Faye Corbett registered her team-leading sixth and seventh assists in the triumph as well. Madeline Fellabom and Jenny Pineiro each scored a goal in the final 12 minutes for USC Aiken (2-8-0, 0-5-0) who are now 0-10-1 all-time in its series with the Black and Gold.

UNCP goalkeeper Britney Bennett registered three saves and 78 shutout minutes in goal to provide the defensive highlights in the contest, while USC Aiken netminder Nicole Westphal did not record a save and allowed all three Lady Braves' goals in the loss. Melissa Westphal tallied 13 shutout minutes between the pipes for the Pacers as well.

"We evaluated our play at half-time and made some crucial changes including more pressure on USC Aiken's forwards in our backfield," said UNCP head coach Lars Andersson. "The dynamics of the second-half changed once we applied pressure in the midfield and we then became able to penetrate the goal."

UNCP took a lead it would never relinquish just less than 18 minutes into the contest when Corbett chipped a ball over the Aiken defense to the waiting feet of Svensson who got the best of a one-vs.-one opportunity with Westphal and fired a shot into the back of the net. Despite a handful of scoring opportunities by both sides, the 1-0 score would hold up going into the halftime break.

The Lady Braves, however, would come out of the intermission at full speed, taking a 2-0 lead on Svensson's second goal of the game – this time a close-range shot into the lower left corner off an assist by Corbett. The advantage would be padded out to three goals 20 minutes later when Padilla converted on the eventual game-winner on a penalty kick attempt. The opportunity was set up when newcomer Kayla Colon was tripped by a Pacer defender on a drive inside the penalty area.

The Pacers would not go down quietly, however, as Fellabom got her team off the mark with a short-range shot in the 79th minute, and Pineiro cut the hosts' deficit with another score exactly six minutes later.

"We, obviously, failed in abiding by one of the golden rules of soccer and that is finishing out a game," Andersson said. "We had a comfortable lead and were playing much better in the second half, and we gave up two goals in the last 12 minutes of the game. We were very fortunate not to give up that third goal that would have sent it into overtime. I give them credit. They took advantage of our complacency and made a game of it."

UNCP will continue a short road trip on Saturday when the Lady Braves head to Americus, Ga., to take on Georgia Southwestern (2-8-0, 0-3-0) at the GSW Soccer Field. Game time is set for 1 p.m.