BLUFFTON, S.C. — The University of South Carolina Beaufort women's soccer team doesn't make a practice of soaking coach Ed Heberling with the water bucket after every win, but this one was special. The Sand Sharks earned the first Sun Conference victory in the program's brief history Sunday, holding off visiting Warner for a 3-2 win at Fin Land Field.

Freshmen Maddie Zak and Jessica Tooley scored first-half goals, and sophomore Alexa Muffley added a goal in the second half for USCB (6-6, 1-2 Sun Conference), which held off a late flurry from the Royals (2-7, 1-3) to get back to .500.

"It's great to get that first conference victory," Heberling said. "We made it closer than we needed to, but we were able to hang on. We're still learning how to win, and with time the team will understand how to put games away."

The Sand Sharks didn't take long to get their attack going, as Claire Kennedy played a long through ball that set up Zak's goal in the seventh minute. Zak ran down the ball up the left side and cut inside, blistering a shot inside the right post. Tooley added her third goal of the season just six minutes later for a 2-0 lead.

USCB added to the lead in the 58th minute, as Kathleen Kent played a corner kick into the box, where Muffley caught it with her right foot for her second goal of the year. 

The Royals didn't go quietly. Warner got on the board in the 61st minute, when Lindsey McCabe converted a penalty kick. The Royals pulled within 3-2 in the 84th minute, as Amber Smith scored off a corner kick from Victoria Allen. Smith and USCB goalkeeper Chelsie Mummert collided going for the ball, and Mummert was unable to gain control before Smith punched in her third goal of the season.

The one-goal margin made for some tense moments down the stretch, but Mummert was able to make three more saves — she had a total of 11 — including a great stop on a one-on-one blast from Naybet Febo. 

"We've now bounced back from two disappointing losses with wins, so I'm excited for our resilience and ability to learn and implement what we've learned in the next match," Heberling said. "As we continue to grow and understand, we will continue to make improvements and add more firsts for our young program."

The Sand Sharks will try to even their record in the conference when they host No. 19 Northwood at 4 p.m. Friday at Fin Land Field.