Bearcats defeat UNC Pembroke for first win over Braves since 2013:
The Lander women’s soccer team earned its first win over Peach Belt Conference foe UNC Pembroke in five years as the Bearcats used two goals from Brianna Taylor to score a 2-1 victory at Van Taylor Stadium on Wednesday night.
Lander (8-2-1, 3-2-1 PBC) remained unbeaten at home and snapped a two-year scoreless streak against the Braves (4-4, 1-3 PBC). The match was delayed for 46 minutes for lightning with 37:39 remaining in the second half.
“The girls played well,” said head coach Chris Ayer. “The lightning break kind of slowed us down a little bit, but the girls came back out and they finished the game. We gave up one late but were able to close it out. It’s a great win, a great three points and very needed.”
Lander took a 1-0 lead at the 36:30 mark when Kylee Eppl took a pass off a Bearcat corner kick and curled a ball into the box to Taylor, who headed a shot into the upper-right corner for her seventh goal of the season.
Taylor struck again in the 57th minute when a pass from Emily Jermstad ricocheted off UNCP defenders and ended at Taylor’s feet. The sophomore then fired a low shot to the left, beating Brave keeper Gina Ryan to give Lander a 2-0 advantage.
UNCP cut the lead to one on a Haley Stewart goal with less than two minutes remaining and threatened to the tie the match just seconds later, but Bearcat keeper Sarah Owen made her sixth save of the night to seal the victory.
Lander travels to USC Aiken next Wednesday for a 6:00 p.m. contest.
