LAKE WALES, Fla. – The University of South Carolina Beaufort women's soccer team used another late offensive flurry to rally for a 4-2 road win over Sun Conference rival Warner on Friday.
Hayley Pina and Alexandria Radue each scored two goals and MJ Orduna registered two assists to lead the Sand Sharks to their third win in their past four games. Pina's two goals give her seven for the season – tying Alexa Muffley's single-season school record set in 2013 – and her 17 points broke Muffley's program mark set the same season.
Radue started the scoring in the sixth minute, floating a shot over the goalkeeper from the corner of the 18-yard box, but Warner's Jamie Murray answered with two goals to give the Royals a 2-1 halftime lead.
USCB continued to dominate possession but couldn't produce the equalizer until the 75th minute, when Orduna slotted a pass to Pina, who ripped a low shot that beat the keeper to the near post. The Sand Sharks needed only 10 more minutes to find the go-ahead goal, as Orduna slipped a pass through the box for Radue, who shot back across the keeper into the side netting. The Sand Sharks put it away just 69 seconds later when a long throw in from Caroline Bowman set up Pina for her second goal of the night.
"I am proud of the girls for fighting back after being down," Heberling said. "We have shown some resiliency the last two games, and that should help with our confidence. Give Warner credit for disrupting our attack. It took us a while to sort them out and wear them down."
The win vaults the Sand Sharks into a tie for third place in the Sun Conference standings, but third and eighth are separated by only three points with the top six teams qualifying for the conference tournament. USCB faces another key conference matchup Sunday, hosting Webber International at 1 p.m. at Fin Land Field.
"This was a huge win for us and helps us better prepare for Sunday," Heberling said. "Webber will be a challenging team that plays physical and direct. I look forward to seeing our team play Sunday. The team is maturing and improving as the season continues."
