PEMBROKE – Two shots caromed off the crossbar and one off the post in a second half that saw plenty of opportunities for the UNC Pembroke soccer squad in a season-opening 1-0 loss to No. 21 Limestone Sunday evening.

MATCH INFORMATION
Score: No. 21 Limestone 1, UNC Pembroke 0
Records: No .21 Limestone (1-1); UNC Pembroke (0-1)
Location: Lumbee River EMC Stadium

HOW IT HAPPENED
Box Score/Play-by-Play

FIRST HALF
-Less than seven minutes into action, UNCP sophomore Shannon O'Neill spun around a Limestone defender and sent a through ball to junior Stacey Scott, who beat the goalkeeper but sent her shot wide left.
-The Braves fired two more shots in the 15th and 16th minutes to grab a 3-0 lead in the shot department.
-The Saints began to find their rhythm in the 18th minute, racking up four shots in the next five minutes before banging home the game's first goal.
-Limestone's Selina Boveleth settled a rebound on her right foot before beating UNCP's Gina Ryan in the upper-left portion of the net just over 23 minutes into the game to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
-UNCP added two more shots and a pair of corners late in the opening half, but were held off the board by Limestone keeper Veronica Smeltzer.

SECOND HALF
-In the span of four minutes beginning in the 62^nd minute, the Black & Gold saw the ball hit the Saint crossbar twice and the post once.
-Senior Kate Weisner nicked the ball off the outside of the right post at the 61:38 mark before Alexis Pittman rattled the crossbar at 65:00 in her first collegiate game.
-UNCP was almost the recipient of an own goal just 97 seconds later as a Brave free kick was headed off the crossbar by a Limestone defender.
-The Braves made one final push in the game's final minute, but a Kristina Stevenson shot was saved by the keeper with nine ticks left on the clock.

KEY STATS
-Both sides had 11 shots, while the Saints put five on goal to UNCP's three. Seven corners went in favor of the guests and the Braves' attempted three corners.
-The prolific UNCP forwards were called offside five times while making runs into scoring position.
-Weisner led all Braves with four shots, while Pittman (3), Scott (2) and Stevenson (1) accounted for the other six UNCP strikes.
-Ryan made four saves in goal, playing all 90 minutes in the net for UNCP.

UP NEXT
The Braves hit the pitch again in less than 24 hours, kicking off at Coker Monday night at 7 p.m. It will be the fifth all-time meeting between the Braves and Cobras, with the previous four all going UNCP's way. The most recent meeting was a 2-1 Braves' win on Sept. 5, 2013 in Hartsville. Live stats and video links can be found at uncpwsoc.com.