USCB women’s soccer rallied from a three-goal deficit Saturday, but Sidney Chura’s 80th-minute tally gave SCAD a 4-3 victory at Fin Land Field to close out the regular season.
Despite the defeat, the Sand Sharks clinched a berth in the 2021 Sun Conference Tournament as the No.5 seed.
The Bees struck quickly in the afternoon contest, as Abigail Siddall found the back of the net just 1:17 into the match to grab a 1-0 lead. USCB looked to answer with a flurry of shots on net, but four different Sand Sharks missed the target from the 13th to 15th minutes. Ines Sommer stretched the visitors’ lead with a pair of goals, scoring in the 28th and 50th frames to build a commanding 3-0 advantage.
The Sand Sharks started their comeback bid just 26 seconds later, as Gabriella Baldo scored on a Synne Bye-Andersen assist to trim the lead to 3-1. Mari Kalvatn kept the rally going with a highlight-reel goal in the 57th minute, juggling the ball through a host of Bee defenders and chipping it over Eliana Charalambous for her 17th goal of the season.
With momentum on their side, the Sand Sharks found the equalizer in the 62nd minute. Baldo drilled a shot toward the goal, and a deflection sent it flying over the keeper’s reach and into the net. But the Bees stung back with just over 10 minutes to play, as Sydney Chura delivered the go-ahead tally before SCAD controlled the possession the rest of the way to secure the 4-3 victory.
Baldo notched five points with two goals and an assist, while Mariah Ruckdeschel made four saves in net.
USCB (10-7-1, 4-4-1) secured its spot in the Sun Conference tournament as the No.5 seed and will battle fourth-seeded St. Thomas in a quarterfinal matchup Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida.
By Wes Kerr / Photo by Bob Cragin
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