Mary Baldwin sophomore Harmony Crawford banged home a rebound of a shot off the goalpost with 10 minutes left in the match to give the Fighting Squirrels a 2-1 victory over visiting William Peace in the opening game of the 2024 USA South Conference women's soccer schedule Saturday.

Crawford, scoring in MBU's third-straight game, broke a 1-1 tie by collecting a shot by freshman Stori Maybank from the right side that bounced off the post knock it into the back of the net, pushing the Fighting Squirrels (2-3-2, 1-0-0 USA South) into the top of the USA South Conference standings.  Crawford now has four goals in 2024 and five in her MBU career.

MBU sophomore Nathalie Dupree opened the scoring by drilling a penalty kick home in the 25th minute, but the Pacers (2-2-1, 0-1-0 USA South) evened the match late in the first half when Emma Mayer lifted a free kick just under the crossbar.

The hosts outshot the visitors 13-5 (7-2 on goal).  MBU keeper Maddy Vinson was credited with one save for the winners.

The Fighting Squirrels return to action Saturday (9/28) with a conference showdown against North Carolina Wesleyan in Rocky Mount, N.C. (3 p.m.)