PEMBROKE – Jordan Walshaw's 71st minute goal gave the UNC Pembroke men's soccer team a comfortable 2-0 cushion, but the Braves needed to hold off a furious late-game rally by Barton to secure a 2-1 victory over the Bulldogs on Wednesday evening at Varsity Grounds.

The triumph kept the Braves (2-2-0) perfect at home this season, and helped UNCP secure its 18th-straight victory in the series with their in-state rivals. It was the second consecutive road loss for Barton (2-3-0) who has not tasted a win against the Black & Gold since the 1998 campaign.

Walshaw tacked up his second and third goals of the season to lead the way for the hosts, who also got assists from four different players in the outing as well. Walshaw also posted a season-best five shots, including a pair on target, to pace the Braves in that column as well. Lucas Gusmao worked all 90 minutes between the pipes and tallied a pair of saves to earn the second win of his collegiate career.

The Braves needed just more than 16 minutes of the first half clock to get on the board when Ruben Taks found space down the near sideline and found a waiting Izzy Evans who found Walshaw in space for a quality one-timer. The 1-0 score would hold up for the next 54 minutes until Walshaw scored again, this time thanks to quality passes from Josh Hanratty and Ties van den Eijnde.

The Bulldogs would not go away quietly, however, as Alex David got Barton off the mark just more than five minutes later. That score sparked the visitors' offense as the Bulldogs got off four quality strikes in the game's final 16 minutes. 

The Braves will continue a season-long four-game home stand on September 21 when they open up Peach Belt Conference play against Clayton State (1-4-0) in the back end of a 1:30 p.m. women's and men's doubleheader at Varsity Grounds. Admission to all 2016 UNCP soccer home games is free.