CLINTON, S.C. – In one of the most well-rounded efforts of the 2022 campaign for the Presbyterian College women's soccer team, featuring a bevy or ultra-close near-falls both early and late in the night against Charleston Southern on Tuesday, the eventual undoing for the Blue Hose occurred at the 53:49 stamp where the Buccaneers squeezed out an unexpected strike, leading to a 1-0 triumph for CSU at Martin Stadium.

Staying the aggressor over a large chunk of the opening frame in a matchup that was pushed back an extra three days due to inclement weather over the weekend, Presbyterian unfortunately was never able to cement what could have been either tying or game-winning goals in a back-and-forth second chapter, forced to endure their fifth loss of the semester by a single goal in the second straight outcome decided by a single play on the box score.
 
FINAL SCORE: Charleston Southern, 1 – Presbyterian, 0
RECORDS: Presbyterian (0-9-3, 0-3-1 Big South), Charleston Southern (5-6-1, 3-1 Big South)
LOCATION: Edens Field at Martin Stadium (Clinton, S.C.)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Although the result suggested something of a defensive tug of war between two conference foes, Tuesday's tussle ended up being a tale of figuring out which side would finally break through after numerous close instances where a score was almost solidified. As a matter of fact, PC came inches away from what would have been their earliest goal of the season, as Reyna Coston rocketed out of the gates for a very tight miss just 17 seconds in.

Taking Charleston Southern's defensive group by surprise – continuing to place pressure on a team that entered the match riding consecutive 2-0 shutout victories – Coston, Sloan Spees, and Lindsey Malyszek all posted bare misses over the game's first 20 minutes, either a few meters outside the target or deflected by CSU keeper Sara Curtis.

Controlling possession and therefore running away in the shots category over the Buccaneers across the opening 45 minutes, Presbyterian approached the halftime break with nothing to show for their fantastic effort on the attack, still knotted up at zero despite lining up a high volume of quality looks at the net.

In matches such as Tuesday's which personify a bit of a see-saw nature between the two teams jockeying for the big blow, it is often a looming mishap that ends up spelling defeat for one club and instant victory for the other. This is exactly what played out in the 54^th minute, as a miscommunication defensively equated to a sudden Buccaneer goal that proved to be the sole factor in swaying a PC win or tie into a Charleston Southern W.

Making up for their rather lackluster start to the match, the Bucs accumulated a whopping 11 corner kicks in the second half alone during the slender win, attributing to the evening's lone goal and PC's downturn in offensive maneuvers. Nonetheless, the Blue Hose were still granted several opportunities to cash in themselves – namely from Spees, Coston, and Kori Lawrence within the last 14 minutes of the bout – but to no avail when the dust cleared.

Mackenzie Azuero stayed in the box for the entire affair on Tuesday, halting four would-be CSU scores in the final half. On the other side of the coin, Curtis denied three PC strikes in the first stanza before letting her defensive teammates keep the blue and white off the scoreboard in the frenetic closing sequence.
 
UP NEXT:
Still in search of their first win against Big South opposition, head coach Brian Purcell and co. will go from host to visitor in 72 hours for their next go-around, taking on Campbell in Buies Creek, N.C. on Friday. First touch is set for 7:00 p.m.

The Blue Hose last downed the Fighting Camels in 2018 by a 1-0 clip away from home, hoping to do the same at the start of the weekend in three days. With a 2-0-2 Big South record behind them, Campbell emerged from a 4-0 decimation over High Point to earn a 2-2 draw with Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs on Tuesday.