The USCB women's soccer team looks to get back on a winning track when the Sand Sharks host regional rival Columbia College at 3 p.m. Thursday at Fin Land Field. The Sand Sharks are looking for their first win against the Koalas as the teams square off for the fourth time.
It's the first of two scheduled matches this week for the Sand Sharks, though their Saturday match against Columbia International is in danger of being postponed or cancelled due to Hurricane Irma.
FIN FACTS
• All home games this season will be broadcast at no charge to viewers via the Sand Shark Gameday Network on Stretch Internet.
• The Sand Sharks return six starters from last year's team, including all-time leading scorer Hayley Piña and fellow seniors Karen Pimentel and MJ Orduña. The returners hope to quickly mesh with a talented group of newcomers that includes NCAA Division I transfer Rileigh Olsen, NJCAA All-American Melissa Fichtner, and promising freshmen Allison Schaffer and Hannah Salus, among others.
• Senior F Hayley Piña is the Sand Sharks' all-time leader in goals (27), assists (15) and points (69), and she ranks second with four career game-winning goals, one behind Alexa Muffley.
• Sophomore GK Moa Johansson entered the season as USCB's all-time leader in goals against average after posting a 1.53 GAA last season, the best single-season mark in program history.
• Six different players scored goals in USCB's season-opening 7-2 win against Life, and five different goal-scorers contributed to a 5-0 win over Middle Georgia.
• USCB's seven goals against the Running Eagles marked the second-most in program history and the most since a 14-1 win over Florida Christian in 2012.
• With six points this season, senior MF MJ Orduna has moved into fourth place on USCB's career list with 29.
• Four different players have scored at least two goals for the Sand Sharks this season with Pina leading the way with four. Senior F Daniella Borjas and sophomore MF Elin Sturesson each have three goals, and Orduna has scored twice.
• Pina and Orduna are tied for the team lead with two assists and rank first and second in USCB history with 15 and 13 assists.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Koalas have tied their last two matches after opening the season with losses to Thomas (3-0) and Columbia International (2-0). Columbia has managed only three goals in its first four contests with three different players scoring. Senior MF Amber Tanner has produced the most scoring chances with team-highs for shots (13) and shots on goal (6). Senior GK Katherine Yahnke has spent the bulk of the time in goal and posted a 1.44 goals against average, stopping 24 of 29 shots on goal.
RELATED LINKS
USCB Schedule and Results
USCB 2017 Statistics
Sand Shark Soccer Record Book
Sun Conference Women's Soccer Standings
USCB Sand Sharks on Facebook
USCB Athletics on Twitter
