COLUMBUS, Ga. – The UNC Pembroke women's soccer team was unable to find a late equalizer as home standing Columbus State's lone goal at the 68:26 mark was enough to earn a first-round victory in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament on Tuesday night at the Walden Soccer Complex.

Kelsey Pelletier netted the game-winning goal for Columbus State (14-5-0) midway through the second half on a cross from Mandy Janowitz. After Janowitz's pass found Pelletier, she beat UNCP (7-10-2) keeper Claire Tracy to push the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal.

The Lady Braves fought valiantly, but were no match for the offensive onslaught from Columbus State. The Cougars finished the night outshooting the Black and Gold, 26-2, and taking all 11 of the night's corner kicks. Michelle Brown, Julie Fisher, Jasmine Jordan and Savanna Stiles did all they could in the backfield, limiting the Cougars to just six shots in the first half. Stiles took both of UNCP's shots in the outing, while Nicole Corcione fired off a match-high five shots for Columbus State. UNCP played aggressive totaling 13 fouls, while the Cougars were awarded seven fouls of their own.

"Given the circumstances we have faced this season, I am incredibly proud of the girls. We went into this game with a great game plan, and it worked. Unfortunately we made one mistake and were punished for it," said UNCP head coach Lars Andersson. "Overall I'm so proud of the kids, they have learned a lot from this season. We got ourselves in the conference tournament which is amazing, again given the circumstances."

The opening frame was a defensive battle, with neither team taking a shot until nearly 21 minutes into the match. Janowitz took the first shot of the night, but her ball was blocked by a UNCP player. The Cougars attempted seven corner kicks in the first half, but were unable to make anything happen on the set play.

Stiles took the only shots of the night for the Black and Gold 10 minutes into the second half. The freshman from Richlands fired off back-to-back shots within five seconds of each other, both attempts blocked by Cougar defenders. Casey Davis tried to put Columbus State on the board in the 53rd minute, but her shot on goal was stopped by Tracy, who grabbed six second-half saves. The Cougars did not let up after Pelletier's 69th minute goal, pounding out nine more shots before the final whistle.

Tracy finished her eighth complete game of the season after turning in a full 90:00 minutes between the pipes. The freshman netminder finished the night with seven saves, bringing her career total to 37 saves. Columbus State goalie, Maylyn Parsons, cruised to her fourth shutout of the season after a relatively easy night in goal, facing no shots on target.

Columbus State will move on to the second round of the PBC Tournament to play Georgia College on Friday in a semifinal contest in Evans, Ga. The Cougars extend their win-streak over UNCP to five-straight matches, including a perfect 6-0-0 record all-time against the Black and Gold in Tournament action.

"In the big picture, when people come back from injuries and when we get our 2014 class finalized, the future is very bright. I looking forward to working with the girls this spring," said Andersson.