UNCP used a first half penalty kick from Rondell Honora to take a slim one-goal lead into the intermission, but erupted for three goals in the final 20 minutes to finish off a 4-0 rout of Chowan Wednesday evening at the Hawks Soccer Complex.
“I was glad that we got the win but, honestly, we made hard work out of 4-0 win,” said UNCP head coach Mike Schaeffer. “I thought that we played down to their level today and we lacked the intensity that we have shown at times in our previous games. This gives us some good momentum heading into our final Peach Belt Conference game of the regular season, but we need to give a little bit more of an effort next time around.”
Despite posting eight more strikes than Chowan in the opening half, UNCP would obtain very little and took a 1-0 lead into the halftime break when Honora converted on a 41st minute penalty kick. The Braves logged six of the first seven shots in the final stanza to put the Hawks back on their heels, but could not find a hole in Chowan’s defense until the latter part of the period.
Pullin would break into the scoring column with a goal at the 70:00 mark off an assist from Travis Mulford, and then added an unassisted goal in the 85th minute to cushion the advantage out to 3-0. Lumberton native Kyle Kenney and fellow freshman Matt Gallagher would string together a pair of passes as time wound down, before Hedrick finished off the scoring opportunity with his first collegiate goal with 12 seconds showing on the game clock.
UNCP will be back in action again on Saturday when the Braves head to Dahlonega, Ga., to battle league foe North Georgia (5-10-0, 1-6-0 PBC) in a 3:30 p.m. contest at the NGCSU Soccer Complex. The contest will mark the regular season finale for both teams.