Babson Park, FL--A strong second-half push was not enough for the Sand Sharks to overcome the Warriors of Webber International University on Wednesday afternoon.

In what was a battle for possession in the early going of the first half ended with Webber International taking the 1-0 lead from a Madison Pike goal. The Warriors' Laura Borders was able to collect a loose ball on the left wing and play it into Pike, who finished the play despite being surrounded by three Sand Sharks.

The strong play of freshmen Hailey Tehrani and Hannah Salus set up multiple opportunities for forward line, but the Sand Sharks were unable to capitalize on the chances. The 1-0 score would hold until the halftime break.

Out of the break, the Sand Sharks managed to put the pressure on a Warrior back line that would continue throughout the 2nd half. The opportunities were plentiful for the Sand Sharks in the early-going, but the several near misses and unfinished plays in the attacking third let down a determined USCB team.

With only minutes remaining in the match, USCB pushed numbers forward in their attempt to bring the score level, but a long ball over the top of the few backs remaining for USCB led to an easy goal for Webber's Francesca Mascali, lofting a ball into an empty net.

The Sand Sharks found a way to respond in the closing seconds of the match to pull within one goal, when Anna Gignilliat redirected a desperate ball played into the Warriors goal area by USCB's Brooke Newman. Unfortunately, there wouldn't be enough time for the Sand Sharks to muster another attack, and the match ended 2-1.

After the game, Coach Heberling said, "This was a disappointing result for us. Webber was able to jump on our slow start and capitalize early on. Although we settled and gained control of the run of play we were not able to find the back of the net. We have Southeastern at home on Saturday. They will be a tough matchup, but it is one I feel our team will be ready for."

The Sand Sharks will host Southeastern University (Fla.) on Saturday at 1 PM. The Sand Sharks will need a couple of things to fall the right way this week, but the team still has an outside shot to make The Sun Conference playoffs, so all eyes will be on Fin Land Field this Saturday.