CHARLESTON, S.C. – The USCB women's soccer team was able to shake off a tough start and put together a strong second half in Tuesday's 3-0 exhibition loss at The Citadel, giving the Sand Sharks something to build on heading into their regular-season opener.

The NCAA Division I Bulldogs scored just 56 seconds into the match and took a 2-0 lead into halftime, but the Sand Sharks came out more aggressive after the break and played even with The Citadel for most of the second half, narrowly missing on several chances to cut into the deficit.

"This is the reason we play these games," USCB coach Ed Heberling said. "We had some mental mistakes and poor passing in the first half, but we were able to change some things in the second half and played much better."

After Tinslee Dilday opened the scoring by punching in a rebound from a Samara Nche shot in the opening minute, freshman goalkeeper Devyn Brown settled in and made 14 saves, helping to keep the Sand Sharks in the match. Katherine Arroyo added the first of her two goals in the 33rd minute, as USCB managed only two shots in the first half.

The Sand Sharks' attack showed flashes of dangerous potential in the second half, forcing Logan Leask to make several strong saves, including shutting down one-on-one chances from freshmen Felicia Alpenmyr and Brooke Newman. Freshman Anna Gignilliat also was able to generate some quality scoring chances.

The second-half turnaround provided encouragement heading into Saturday's regular-season opener at Life University in Marietta, Ga., after which the Sand Sharks will return home to face Montreat (N.C.) on Aug. 26 and Campbellsville (Ky.) for Youth Day on Aug. 28.

"We are excited about the upcoming season," Heberling said. "We have the tools to succeed and some real potential."