GREENWOOD - A pair of key substitutions late in the game paid off for the victorious 13th-ranked Lander Bearcats Saturday.
Fred Parker and K.C. Dunbaker were put in a tie match with five minutes left and they combined on what proved to be the game-winning goal, lifting Lander to a hard-fought 3-2 Peach Belt Conference men's soccer victory over UNC Pembroke.
Parker, a freshman, scored the winning goal with 3:39 left on an assist from Dunbaker. It was Parker's first goal of his collegiate career. While Dunbaker was chasing down a long pass, Braves goalkeeper Tom Courtney came out. Dunbaker got a pass to Parker behind the keeper, and Parker nailed the winning goal.
Lander improved to 9-1-1 overall and 4-0 in the Peach Belt. The Braves fell to 5-7-1, 0-3.
It took only two minutes and 15 seconds for Lander to score its first goal of the game. Aaron Brittain scored his 10th goal of the season on an assist by Ivan Stoykov.
Courtney made a nice leaping save on a Stoykov header with 13:15 left in the first half, keeping the score 1-0.
The Braves tied the game with 1:18 left before halftime when Moses Dimmock scored on a breakaway goal, getting behind Lander goalkeeper Billy Hale for the equalizer.
The Bearcats wasted no time regaining the lead in the second half, scoring just 20 seconds in on a goal by Jamie Davison. During a wild scramble in front of the goal, Davison collected the ball in front of an empty net to the right of several players, including the goalkeeper, and nailed his fourth goal of the season.
But Pembroke answered with another equalizer when Dragan Lipovac scored off a double assist by Jason Chevalier and Miguel Ferrer with 36:30 left in the match.
The Bearcats had a big scoring chance with 20 minutes left in the game when Brittain nailed a shot that was headed for a goal. But with the goalkeeper out of the net, Braves defender Phil Charles made a diving stop near the post, keeping the game tied.
Parker and Dunbaker entered the game to add some speed and fresh legs to Lander's lineup, and the moved paid off.
Lander out-shot the Braves 17-13. Courtney had six saves while Hale stopped three for the Bearcats. Lander had a 6-4 edge in corner kicks.
