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GREENWOOD, S.C. – Redshirt-junior Courtney Crump's first goal of the season and some creativity in the box from redshirt-freshman Kristina Stevenson powered the UNC Pembroke women's soccer squad past Lander 2-0 Wednesday evening at Van Taylor Field in a critical Peach Belt Conference (PBC) contest.

The Braves (9-2, 7-0 PBC) up their winning streak to nine, the longest streak since the 2008 NCAA Tournament team. UNCP is currently in a tie for third in the league race with 21 points. The Bearcats (3-9-1, 2-6-1 PBC) have now lost three straight and fall into ninth place in the conference. The top eight teams advance to the PBC Tournament, set to begin Nov. 2.

"I'm very proud of the women tonight," head coach Lars Andersson said. "We ran into a well-coached, well-organized and very spirited Lander team. It wasn't pretty at all times, but I saw some good things that we can build on going forward."

The Black & Gold came off the bus firing, racking up 14 shots in the first half to Lander's six. Early in the 27th-minute, sophomore Mackenzie Wright found Crump down the right side of the pitch and Crump did the rest, making multiple defenders miss before beating the Bearcat goalkeeper from just inside the box. It's Wright's team-high fourth assist of the season.

Coming out of the half, the hosts kept the Braves subdued until the 76th-minute when Stevenson was the recipient of a scramble in the box and chipped the ball over the netminder for her third goal of the season.

Freshman Gina Ryan played all 90 minutes in net for UNCP, making a pair of saves in each half to notch her fifth shutout of the campaign. Ryan has saved 103 of the 105 shots she's faced in 2016.

While Andersson knows it wasn't his team's best performance, a conference win is nothing to complain about.

"This is the PBC and it's always a grind," he said. "But tonight, the women proved to me they are willing to embrace that and compete with the best. The bottom line is that we got the win we came for and we can move forward."

The Braves return home and welcome No. 12 North Georgia to Pembroke for a 1 p.m. tilt Saturday at Lumbee River EMC Stadium. It will be the second ranked opponent UNCP has faced this season after knocking off then-No. 9 Columbus State 1-0 on Sept. 24. The Cougars have since risen to No. 5 in the nation. The Nighthawks (10-1-2, 7-1-1 PBC) are winners of five straight overall and sit atop the conference standings with Armstrong State, both at 22 points.

"We are in for some tough matches coming down the stretch," Andersson said. "It won't be an easy end to the season, but I think this team is up for the challenge."