PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke soccer team jumped to an early 2-0 lead after back-to-back goals from
Alexis Pittman and was able to fend off Albany State to in the final minutes for a 3-2 victory on Wednesday evening at the Lumbee River EMC Stadium.
Wednesday's result helped the Braves (7-2-0, 3-1-0 PBC) stretch their home unbeaten streak out to 20 games, while also marking the 17
th-straight win for the Black & Gold in Pembroke. The Golden Rams (3-5-0, 1-3-0 PBC), who are playing their inaugural season as an associate member of the Peach Belt Conference, have now lost their last two contests.
| SCORING SUMMARY |
| 13' |
Bree Mason's perfectly-placed crossing pass found a wide-open Alexis Pittman who was able to get her foot on it for the first goal of the game. |
| 14' |
Alexis Pittman had an offensive breakaway and was able to put the Braves up 2-0 after getting the best of a 1 v. 1 situation with ASU goalkeeper Alexas Vivas Castro. |
| 28' |
Albany State's Alesha Korstrzwa turnaround shot in traffic found the back of the net to cut the visitor deficit in half. |
| 46' |
Rilee Seering took control of a loose ball just more than 30 seconds into the second half and found the back of the net to push the host lead back out to two goals. |
| 89' |
The Golden Rams earned a corner kick that caused trouble for the defense and Paula Guba sent one past UNCP netminder Gina Ryan and into the back of the net. |
| TOP BRAVES |
+ Alexis Pittman scored her third and fourth goals of the season on the way to her second career multi-goal game, but her first since netting a pair of goals against USC Aiken as a freshman in 2017.
+ Rilee Seering netted her seventh career goal and her team-leading sixth of the season. Her 46th-minute goal was her fifth game-winning goal. She has accounted for all three of UNCP's game-winning goals against league opponents. |
| NOTABLES |
+ Wednesday afternoon's victory stretched UNCP's home unbeaten streak out to 20-straight games (17-straight victories). The last loss for the Braves in Pembroke came via a 1-0 setback to Limestone in the 2017 season opener. The Black & Gold also have a 2-2 tie with Flagler during that stretch as well.
+ The Braves attempted a season-high 30 shots, including a season-best 18 shots on goal. The 18 shots on goal is the most for the Black & Gold since tallying 24 in a 7-0 win over Georgia Southwestern in 2015.
+ Five UNCP players tallied five or more shots against the Rams on Wednesday – Alexis Pittman (7), Rilee Seering (6), Paula Valbuena (6), and Maya Grimes (5). |
| UP NEXT |
| The Braves will be back in action at home again on Saturday when they take on unbeaten and fourth-ranked Flagler (9-0-0, 4-0-0 PBC). Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Lumbee River EMC Stadium. Admission is free to all UNCP Soccer home games. |
