BLUFFTON, S.C. - Four different Sand Sharks scored on Saturday afternoon, as the USCB women's soccer team shut out Ave Maria, 4-0, and collected three critical points at Fin Land Field.

Inside The Box Score

Julia Gherardi - one goal, fourth goal of season

Mina Ljosland - one goal, third goal of season

Madeline Matusik - one goal, first goal at USCB

Hannah Salus - one goal, fourth of season, 10th career goal

Aryss Gomez - 90 minutes in goal, eight saves

Allison Schaffer, Salus, Isabella Ahlen Jakobs and Lexi Kaeser - one assist each

Highlights

How It Happened

The game opened quickly for USCB, as it scored the game's first goal in just the second minute of the contest. After generating an interception near midfield, Schaffer cut through the Ave Maria defense where she fed a through ball to Gherardi. Gherardi beat her defender and slid the ball past the goalkeeper and into the left side of the net. The goal was her fourth of the season and gave USCB the early 1-0 advantage. 

The Sand Sharks continued to attack the AMU goal for the next 15 minutes. During that span, USCB took five shots and put three of those on goal. The fifth shot in the 15-minute span found the back of the net, as Ljosland tallied her third goal of the year. Similar to Schaffer, Ljosland cut through the Gyrene midfield. However, Ljosland took the shot from the top of the 18-yard box and found the right side of the net. The tally doubled USCB's lead, 2-0. 

USCB continued to have chances to score in the first half, but none of the shots found the back of the net.

For most of the second half, the two squads exchanged opportunities. In fact, USCB and Ave Maria combined for 14 shots until the 80th minute. 

USCB broke the stretch, as Matusik recorded her first goal in a USCB uniform. Matusik connected a pass to Jakobs at Ave Maria's 18-yard box. Jakobs then dished the ball to Salus on her right, who then reconnected with Matusik on the left side of the penalty area. Unmanned, Matusik took one touch and drilled her shot past the AMU goalkeeper.

Just one minute later, Salus tallied USCB's fourth goal of the match. Kaeser generated a turnover in the Sand Shark's half of the field. Working the ball upfield, Kaeser eventually slid a through pass to Salus inside the penalty area. With the goalkeeper pressing, Salus chipped the ball over the goalkeeper and into the open net.

Team Record Updates

USCB - 8-7-0 overall, 4-4-0 Sun Conference

Ave Maria - 1-14 overall, 0-8 Sun Conference

What's Next?

USCB will play its final regular-season road matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 30, as the Sand Sharks will travel to Webber International. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. in Babson Park, Fla.