Early miscue, storm delay limit USCB to 1-1 women’s soccer draw

Hayley Pina's header in the 68th minute managed to nullify an early own goal, but USC Beaufort could not push across a go-ahead tally Saturday as the Sand Sharks had to settle for a 1-1 women's soccer draw at Johnson & Wales.

USCB (7-5-1) dominated the run of play, putting 11 shots on goal to the Wildcats' one, but the early own goal and a lightning delay in the second half kept the Sand Sharks from capitalizing on any momentum.

The game was delayed 90 minutes shortly after Pina's equalizer, and two 10-minute overtime periods failed to produced a winner.

"This was a winnable game for us," USCB coach Ed Heberling said. "We came out flat to start the game and the own goal put us behind early. ... We started to gain momentum and dictate the speed of the game before the storm moved in."

Pina's eighth goal of the season finally brought the Sand Sharks even, putting away a header that began off a corner kick from Poppy Miller in the 68th minute. However, lightning moved into the area just six minutes later to force the teams off the field.

The Sand Sharks fell behind in the 17th minute when a mistimed USCB header intended to clear the ball wound up the back of the net.

The draw left USCB in fourth place in the Sun Conference, with the task getting no easier in Monday's second half of its Florida road trip. The Sand Sharks will visit unbeaten Keiser, which stands No.2 in the latest NAIA rankings.

This story was originally published October 16, 2016 at 2:56 PM with the headline "Early miscue, storm delay limit USCB to 1-1 women’s soccer draw."