The University of South Carolina Beaufort women's soccer team notched its first winning streak of the season Tuesday, holding off a furious rally from visiting Erskine College for a 4-3 victory at Fin Land Field.

Jessica Tooley tallied two goals and an assist and Pascale Rocca added a goal and an assist as USCB evened its record at 3-3-1 and earned its first-ever win against an NCAA Division II opponent. 

"Our girls came out ready to play today and it showed from the start," USCB coach Ed Heberling said. "We were moving the ball so well throughout all phases of our team and creating numerous scoring opportunities. Jessica Tooley and Brittany Lorentz played unbelievably well together today."

Lorentz and Tooley assisted on USCB's first goal in the 25th minute, as Tooley played the ball to Lorentz, whose blast rebounded to Rocca for an open shot at the goal and the sophomore's first goal of the season. Rocca and Tooley teamed up again in the 40th minute with Tooley scoring her first goal of the season for a 2-0 halftime lead.

The Sand Sharks added to the lead in the 67th minute, when Lorentz was pulled down in the box and Steph Moldenhauer converted a penalty kick for her team-leading fourth goal of the season. 

The Flying Fleet (0-5-0) didn't go quietly, though. Hayley Rogers got Erskine on the board in the 71st minute, only to see Tooley score her second goal of the day less than a minute later with an assist from Moldenhauer. Erskine struck twice more, with Rogers scoring in the 77th minute and Lucy Jeffs trimming the margin to 4-3 in the 85th minute before the Sand Sharks held on. 

Heberling applauded several individual efforts but singled out senior Sinéad Byrne for her role in facilitating the strong offensive performance. 

"Sinéad Byrne stepped up big, as seniors should, to play the best game of her collegiate career," Heberling said. "She was able to pick out passes that split the defense and left us with great scoring opportunities."

Heberling also credited his team's tough early-season schedule for its success Tuesday. 

"Today's match was a glimpse of what our team is capable of doing this season," Heberling said. "We need to focus on playing the entire 90 minutes at our speed and style of play." 

USCB hits the road for its next three matches, playing at NCAA Division I Alabama State on Sunday before opening Sun Conference play with contests at Florida Memorial and St. Thomas the following weekend.