PEMBROKE – Hot shooting off the cleats of newcomers Tom Potter and Jordan Walshaw in the fifth and 17th minute, respectively, secured the UNC Pembroke men's soccer team a 2-0 win in the 2015 season opener against Mars Hill on Thursday evening at Varsity Grounds in Pembroke.
The Braves (1-0-0) claimed their fourth season-opening victory in the last six years under head coach Phil Hindson and currently hold a five-game unbeaten streak over Mars Hill (0-1-0) following Thursday's contest.
Potter paced the Braves' momentum early after receiving an assist from senior captain Josh Phelps for a cross shot at the top of the box into the upper right corner of the net with less than five minutes elapsed in the contest. At the 16:40 mark, Walshaw collected a no-look pass from Potter and used a small dribble to through off his defender for the insurance goal past the diving goalkeeper.
"I thought it was a very positive performance. Winning the first game is always great, but we don't want to get too high," Hindson said. "Overall, I'm very pleased and now we have to move forward and correct a few things to get ready for Brevard."
A scoreless second half left the Lions wanting as they out-shot UNCP 6-0 despite only having four shots on goal throughout regulation. Sophomore Kenneth Perkinson recorded four saves in his complete game between the pipes, while Chris Mitchell nabbed just one save for Mars Hill.
Potter finished the contest with three points and led the team with two shots, while Ian Wu and Christian McArthur shared a team-best three shots for the Lions.
The physical contest produced a combed 27 fouls as Mars Hill led the way with 18 as the teams each had two yellow cards.
"The first game is always difficult because you just never know, and you can do as much as you want in preseason. But, whoever gets the first goal in the game is key. I'm just very happy that we got the result and the guys did a good jobs because it is not easy when you have to play two goals ahead so early. We handled it well and I'm so proud of the effort and the concentration."
The Braves will head to Rock Hill, S.C., on Sunday for the first of two neutral site contests this season with a 6 p.m. battle against Brevard (0-1-0).
