LEXINGTON, Va.- Senior midfielder Kenneth Robinson scored the game's only goal, as Birmingham-Southern battled their way to a hard-fought 1-0 victory over VMI Friday afternoon at Patchin Field. With the win, BSC clinches the Big South regular season championship.

Neither team could find the back of the net in a physical first half, as VMI outshot BSC by a 6-3 margin. Only 80 seconds into the second half, Robinson scored his second goal of the season from the top of the 18-yard box to give the Panthers (9-5, 5-1 Big South) the lead.

VMI (9-7-1, 2-4-1 Big South) would not give in though, continuing to pressure the Panther defense and getting off five shots in the period. BSC held steady, as keeper Joseph Anthony made four saves in the contest for his fifth shutout of the season.

"Today was the most outstanding effort that I've ever seen, against a team that creates such challenging circumstances," said VMI head coach Stephen Ross. "The way that they play, it is very hard to create chances against. Today was a test for our intensity, our heart and tactically, and we come away feeling very good in those areas. We got a lot of questions answered for the Big South tournament, and I think that we feel good about our chances."

In the match, BSC totaled 12 shots to VMI's 11 and were whistled for 19 fouls to VMI's 16. VMI was called offsides four times to the Panthers' one, while BSC took five corner kicks to VMI's four.

VMI keeper Thomas Upton made three saves in goal, as he and Anthony each played the entire 90 minutes in goal.

VMI returns to action Tuesday afternoon, when they travel to Washington, D.C. to take on Georgetown. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.