MURFREESBORO – Following a foul on Chowan, the UNC Pembroke men's soccer set up for the free kick  and sophomore Clayton Gannaway headed the ball into the net for the lone score of the game at the 16:44 mark to give the Braves its final victory, 1-0, of the regular season in regional play on Saturday afternoon. 

The Braves (6-7-3) halted a three-game losing streak, while remaining undefeated in the series with Chowan (11-7). Fellow sophomore Ricky Chavez tallied the only assist on the third shot of the game and first by Gannaway to put the Black and Gold ahead. Senior Sam Miles led the Braves with five shots, while defenders Kevin Vigebo and Tom Devitt each tallied four. 

Following the score, Miles attempted an insurance score at the 17:06 mark, but netminder Marco Lujan picked up his first save of the contest. Freshman Kenneth Perkinson collected his sixth shutouts of the season by holding onto two saves in his 90 minutes of action between the goal posts, while Lujan notched eight saves despite receiving the loss. 

The Braves were given the first yellow card of the game, but Chowan was awarded the next three and finished the game with 14 fouls. A quick shuffle inside the box with less than two minutes left before the half saw three quick shots by the Hawks - a block, a save and a wide shot - kept the Hawks wanting.

On two different occasions in the final 11 minutes of the game, UNCP hustled to put another score on the board, but the Hawks' defense resulted in a pair of saves and a trio of blocks.

Despite being outshot by the Braves 22-9, Chowan failed to finish each shot as Barkan Koeprueluegil and Terell Williamson held a team-high three shots. The teams entered halftime with UNCP holding a 10-7 advantage, but Chowan was held to two shots in the second half as the Braves proved unyielding on defense.

The Braves will await the announcement of their seeding in the Peach Belt Conference tournament that is expected to be announced later tonight.