UNCP battles No. 11 Pirates to draw
By Robert Kelley
Assistant Sports Editor

            The Lady Braves’ soccer team stood only 32 minutes away from upsetting nationally-ranked No. 11 Armstrong Atlantic on Sept. 19.
            Unfortunately, those 32 mintues were just not enough.
            Armstrong Atlantic’s Alyssa Anderson scored a goal with 15 minutes remaining in regulation tying the game 1-1 as the Lady Braves could not muster enough offense to grasp the lead before overtime.
            Both team’s exchanged shots in the first overtime but it remained tied after the opening extra session.
            Double overtime saw much of the same with the only threat coming from a UNCP free kick with just 20 seconds remaining sailing wide right.
            The Lady Braves’ (5-1-1, 0-1-1 PBC) had a brief lead when Lefke Boyson scored their only goal of the contest in the 68th minute to get on the board 1-0.
            Coming off a free kick, Boyson was able to get her heel on the ball and deflect it off of  Pirates’ goalie Tarra Kohler for the slim advantage.
            The Pirates (4-1-1, 1-0-1 PBC) tied the game just seven minutes later, in the 75th minute, with Anderson’s kick.
            Despite the tie, UNCP head coach Lars Andersson was impressed with his team’s effort against a quality opponent.
            “I felt that we were the better team for a long part of the game, but to Armstrong’s credit they continued to fight back and got the draw even when they fell down 1-0,” Andersson said. “I’m very proud of the way our team played and I hope it sends a message to some of the other teams out there in the Peach Belt Conference.”
            After winning five of its last seven and forcing a tie with the No. 11 Pirates, Andersson says there are still areas of improvement that need to be addressed.
            “We’ve only allowed three goals in seven games, but two of them are from corner kicks. That’s something that we need to address and it’s my responsibility as coach to fix this problem before it happens again.”