From June 19-23 and June 26-30, USCBAthletics.com will count down the top 10 moments of the 2016-17 school year for Sand Shark Athletics. Today’s entry is No. 7 on the list.
When Hayley Piña arrived at USCB in the summer of 2014, the Sand Shark Soccer coaching staff knew she had the potential to be a program-changing player. Three years later, her name litters the program’s record book.
Piña’s sensational junior season was one of the many highlights of the 2016-17 school year for USCB Athletics, as she broke her own single-season records for goals (11) and points (26) and charged to the top of the career charts for goals (23), assists (13), and points (59).
As a result, Piña became the first player in Sand Shark Soccer history named to the All-Sun Conference first team, and she helped USCB set the program record for wins (10) and tie the mark for conference wins (5).
Nearly every game of the season seemingly brought a new record for Piña, who broke the career record for points with two goals in a 4-2 win over Middle Georgia State on Sept. 10 and continued rewriting the record books during Sun Conference play.
The Culver City, Calif., native tied the career marks for goals and assists in a thrilling 4-3 overtime win over St. Thomas on Sept. 30 and became the Sand Sharks’ all-time leading goal scorer two days later with a pair of goals in a 3-0 win against Florida Memorial.
Piña’s assist in a 1-1 draw with SCAD Savannah on Oct. 20 broke the career record, and with two goals in a 3-2 loss against Thomas on Oct. 22, Pina broke the single-season points record and tied and broke the single-season goals mark.