PEMBROKE – Sophomore James Casserly scored his third goal in the last two games on a header in the 37th minute for the game's only score as No. 22 UNC Pembroke men's soccer team dispelled of Mars Hill on Sunday afternoon at  Varsity Grounds.

The Casserly and Jeff MacDonald duo mirrored the same play as the goals scored in the first regular season game with MacDonald leading the charge from the corner kick. He served the ball into the box for the assist where Casserly connected and capped off the scoring campaign for the Braves (2-0-0).

"James (Casserly) is very dangerous and our set pieces are something that we work a lot on and we are going to continue to do," said UNCP head coach Phil Hindson. "Every goal we have had this season has been off a set piece."

The Braves out-numbered Mars Hill (0-2-0) in corner kicks as the Lions served one compared to UNCP's nine opportunities for a set play. With an aggressive style of play, the teams combined for 25 fouls, two yellow cards and two red cards. Junior Sam Miles earned the squad's only booking with a red card, while UNCP controlled 13 fouls.

"We had a very good performance from the guys, and we stuck to our game plan well. The red card Mars Hill got worked against us because we lost our momentum for a little bit. Up until that point, I thought we were in complete control and then we kind of got a little bit flustered, but we worked through it. The guys gave a lot of effort and a lot of graft and I'm very proud of them today," Hindson said.

The Lions were outshot after 90 minutes of play as the Braves posted 14 shots, while the Lions registered 10. Sophomore Reece Rooney led the squad with five shots as Rico Laitinen and Adam Smith collected two apiece. Felipe Ferraro logged a team-best three shots for Mars Hill, while three others claimed two shots each.

"We have a very good back four and goalkeeper. The defense of the whole team did well. Matt MacDougall and Sam Miles did a good job of directing from the front and it was just a very good team effort," Hindson said.

Netminder Ryan Hanson tallied his first shutout of the season as he turned in two saves, one in each half. Oliver Pannell felt the onslaught of shots from the Black and Gold as he grabbed four saves during the match.

"Our next game against Wingate will be a difficult game, but we are looking forward to it. They are very good, but we had a good result against them last year and we are trying to put a plan together to do the same thing," Hindson said.

The Braves will make the short two-hour trip up US-74 on Wednesday for their first road game of the season to face No. 12 Wingate (1-0-0) in a 7 p.m. matchup at WU Soccer Field in Wingate. Admission to all 2013 home soccer matches is free.