PEMBROKE – Region-rival Wingate broke open a halftime tie by posting goals from Rodrigo Ugalde and Charlie Machell early in the second period to collect a 2-0 shutout victory over the UNC Pembroke men's soccer team on Wednesday evening at Varsity Grounds.

UNCP (0-2) dropped its second-straight game of the season and inched the series to nearly a tie as the Braves still hold a 14-13-0 advantage over Wingate (2-1-0). The Bulldogs outshot the Black and Gold in each half and concluded the outing with a 16-8 shot disparity at the final buzzer. 

Senior Sam Miles tallied a team-high three shots for the Braves, while freshman keeper Kenneth Perkinson grabbed four saves in his 90 minutes between the pipes. Five other Braves registered one shot, as Reece Rooney and Sid Peterson had UNCP's only shots on goal.

Ugalde collected the game-winning goal in the 55th minute for his first goal of the season as he scored off a pass from the lift side to tip the ball into the back of the net from the front of the box on the assist by Machell. Nearly 10 minutes later, Machell stepped up for his own goal and third of the season as Gui Peron passed the ball from inside the box and shot from the right corner to put Wingate up by two scores.

"Overall I was pleased. I thought the guys made a lot of progress tonight," said UNCP head coach Phil Hindson. "Wingate is a very good team and we matched them for a very long period, but overall I think the depth they had was the difference in the game."

Stephen Banick recorded a clean sheet after posting two saves in goal for the Bulldogs. The aggressive contest logged a combined 37 fouls with Wingate committing 24, as well as four of the six cautions on the night.

UNCP will open up Peach Belt Conference action on Saturday with a 3:30 p.m. battle against Georgia Southwestern (1-2, 0-0 PBC) at the GSW Soccer Field in Americus, Ga.