The USCB women's soccer team hopes to begin its final push toward the postseason when the Sand Sharks host Warner in their final home game of the regular-season Tuesday at Fin Land Field.
The Sand Sharks will observe Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day, as each player will honor a member of the USCB campus community who has made a positive impact on their collegiate experience during a pregame ceremony.
USCB enters the day in sixth place in the Sun Conference standings and can move back into fifth with a win or a tie Tuesday. The top seven teams qualify for the Sun Conference Tournament.
The Sand Sharks are coming off a tough 3-2 loss to Thomas in which they gave up two goals in a five-minute span early in the second half to fall behind 3-1 before finishing with a furious rally and nearly coming up with the equalizer.
Warner lost its first six matches of the season but has come on strong of late, winning four of its last six including a 2-1 overtime victory at Johnson & Wales on Saturday.
"This will be a challenging game for us, as Warner has been well-organized and limits the opposition in the attack," USCB coach Ed Heberling said. "We need to find the same intensity we had at the end of the match against Thomas and maintain it from the beginning Tuesday. Warner has always given us a challenge, and they have been in great form lately."
FIN FACTS
• With two goals against Thomas, junior F Hayley Pina is broke her own single-season program records for goals (10) and points (24). Pina already is USCB's career leader for points (57), goals (22) and assists (13).
• The Sand Sharks are 3-4-1 at home this season and have earned at least one point in three of their last four contests at Fin Land Field. USCB is 2-0 all-time at home against Warner.
• USCB won its first two road games to start a season and is 4-2 away from home after winning at Ave Maria on Sept. 24, tying the school record for road wins in a season set in 2012 and matched in 2013.
• The Sand Sharks have outshot the opposition in 13 of their 16 games this season and have held a double-digit edge in nine of those matches. USCB has allowed five or fewer shots on goal nine times and has permitted five or fewer total shots five times.
• Thirteen different players have scored goals and two more have registered assists for the Sand Sharks. Pina (10), freshman F Felicia Alpenmyr (3), freshman F Anna Gignilliat (3), senior F Taylor Superior (3), sophomore MF Brittney Neser (2), and senior MF Sam Satterlee (2) each have scored multiple goals.
• USCB opened the season with back-to-back shutouts – the first consecutive clean sheets since the Sand Sharks recorded consecutive 1-0 wins over St. Andrews and Southeastern in October 2013. The Sand Sharks have four shutouts on the season, their most since recording five in 2013.
RELATED LINKS
USCB Schedule and Results
USCB 2016 Statistics
Sun Conference Women's Soccer Standings
USCB Sand Sharks on Facebook
USCB Athletics on Twitter
