Burton Strikes Twice As No. 21 AASU Advances In PBC Tournament

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Senior forward Kristin Burton tallied a pair of goals and freshman Morgan Mitchell added one as the No. 21-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State women's soccer squad advanced past the first round of the 2009 Peach Belt Conference Women's Soccer Championships with a 3-0 victory over visiting UNC Pembroke on Tuesday afternoon at AT&T Field.

The second-seeded Pirates (13-3-3) advance to the PBC semifinals for the fifth consecutive season, where they will face 3rd-seeded Lander - a 1-0 winner over 6th-seeded Flagler - on Friday at 5:00 p.m. in Evans, Ga., at the PBC's Final Four. UNC Pembroke sees its season come to a close with a 10-8-1 overall record.

A short-handed UNC Pembroke squad hung in against the Pirates for the first third of the match, but a key sub by the Pirates sparked AASU to a 1-0 lead. Less than a minute after freshman forward Katie Jesser entered the match, she took a pass from Kyndal Schaaf and crossed it to Burton, whose shot beat UNCP keeper Rea Segoviano in the 38th minute for the first goal of the match.

The one goal lead would stand into halftime, with the Pirates owning a 12-2 advantage in shots at intermission.

In the second half, Burton would tally her second goal of the match in the 61st minute. A one-touch shot by Burton, off of a cross by Kristina Pascutti, was initially saved by a diving Segoviano, but the ball rolled out of her arms and into the goal, giving the Pirates a 2-0 lead.

For Burton, it was her 90th career goal - she is now one of only 11 players in NCAA Division II history to record 90 career goals. It was also her 24th career multi-goal match and sixth this season.

More bad luck on the part of UNC Pembroke resulted in the third and final goal for AASU. Freshman Morgan Mitchell popped a sky high ball into the box from the right side, where Segiovano misjudged it - the ball falling through her hands and into the net in the 73rd minute.

Segiovano finished the match with nine saves in net for the Braves, while AASU keeper Tracey Mitchell recorded the shutout, making  a pair of saves on the day. It was the Pirates' eighth shutout of the season.

AASU outshot the Braves, 23-6, and owned a slim edge in corner kicks, 4-3.

Burton tallied 11 shots, five on goal, in her likely final home match as a Pirate. Rebecca Womack led the Braves with three shots, including two on goal.