GREENWOOD, S.C. – Senior Brett Luccia punched in two quick goals less than 12 minutes apart in the first half to give the visiting UNC Pembroke men's soccer team a 2-0 lead, and the Braves held back a late comeback attempt by Lander to capture the 2-1 victory in Peach Belt Conference action on Wednesday evening at the Jeff May Complex.

With the victory, the Braves (3-4-3, 2-2-2 PBC) clinched their second win in league play and moved to fourth in the PBC rankings, while Lander (5-3-1, 1-2-1) lost its second contest in the month of October and second-consecutive loss in the series with the Black and Gold.

Luccia opened up the game with his first goal in the 12th minute as fellow senior Sam Miles sent the pass from the left side to connect with Luccia at the front of the goal for the score. Again at the 23:13 mark, Luccia booted the ball from just inside the midfield line to put the Braves up 2-0 and tally his third goal of the season.

Despite being outshot by the Bearcats, 17-8, UNCP needed just three shots prior to adding its two goals, while Lander attempted 10 shots and posted its only goal in the 77th minute as Russell Parker notched his 15th goal of the season to bring Lander within one score of the Braves.

"This was a fantastic road win against a very good Lander team," said UNCP head coach Phil Hindson. "The guys left everything on the field."

Freshman Kenneth Perkinson pulled in four saves in the first 45 minutes and five in the second stanza for a career-high nine saves during the 90 minutes in between the posts. Following the Bearcats' goal, Lander closed out the game with five shots in the next 13 minutes, but came up short despite two of those shots hitting the post as the UNCP defense denied the comeback attempt to secure the victory.

Miles and Luccia ended the game with two shots, while Kevin Vigebo, Branco Theis, Nathan Legge and Ricky Chavez tallied one shot apiece. Lander was led by Parker and Jose Cubillan with three shots, while netminder Barrett Neilsen grabbed just two saves during his time in goal.

The Braves will close out their three-game road trip with a Wednesday matchup against Mars Hill (4-5) in a regional contest in Mars Hill.