PEMBROKE, N.C. — The No. 4 Flagler College women's soccer team knew Thursday's rescheduled match at UNC Pembroke was going to be a dogfight.
 
And it proved as such until the final whistle, but when the 70th minute rolled around, the Saints began to pull away as they scored two goals within three minutes to leave Lumbee River EMC Stadium with a 2-0 victory. The win signifies not only Flagler's fourth Peach Belt Conference win in a row, but also the fourth consecutive shutout and the fifth clean sheet in Flagler's six PBC matches. In those six matches, the Saints have outscored opponents 20-1 with five wins and a tie.
 
"Today was a massive result for our team," Flagler head coach Ashley Martin said. "UNCP was tough, organized, and relentless, but we kept grinding until we found the breakthrough. Our defensive play was exceptional, which we knew it would have to be, as UNCP has the ability to punish any of our mistakes. The Braves are a top-4 team in the PBC and today illustrated exactly why.
 
"Now, we have a quick turnaround with the match at GSW tomorrow, which we are eagerly anticipating given that the regular-season title can be clinched with a positive result."
 
As Martin alluded to, Flagler (6-0-1, 5-0-1 PBC) now heads to Americus, Georgia, with an opportunity to claim the program's second consecutive PBC regular-season title with a over Georgia Southwestern University. The final regular-season match will begin at 1 p.m.
 
The duo of Maria Castorino Mujica and Annie Habeeb were the ones responsible for breaking UNC Pembroke goalkeeper Chiara Coppin's shutout and replacing Flagler's egg on the scoreboard in the 70th minute. It was Castorino Mujica with the assist as she used a free kick and found Habeeb in a scrum of players in the box, and then Habeeb did the rest with the go-ahead goal for her third on the season and lone shot on goal Thursday.
 
When the 73rd minute rolled around, Gabi Flores was dribbling upfield before crossing the ball — close to where Castorino Mujica was on the left — and finding Josefine Nilsen's boot for the one-timer goal and 2-0 lead that proved true. It was Nilsen's first goal and Flores' first assist this year as Nilsen led the Saints' 14 shots (eight on goal) with three, while Sara Sandberg, Castorino Mujica and Lorena Lopez had two apiece.
 
The conference's best defense did what it does to secure the win as Sarah-Lisa Dubel recorded her 27th career shutout and fifth (third individual) clean sheet this season. She saved five of seven shots faced from the Braves (6-3-1, 6-3-1) and hasn't allowed a goal since Flagler's 1-1 draw at Columbus State University Feb. 28.
 
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