Winston-Salem, NC - On a rainy afternoon, the reigning USA South tournament champion Southern Virginia University women's soccer team traveled south to North Carolina for a matchup with the Spirits of Salem College. Goals have been hard to come by in the young season for the Knights. Still, the Southern Virginia attackers put aside any frustration and filled the Salem nets from the start, earning their first conference victory of the season in a 4-2 victory.

From the kickoff, the Knights stuck to their typical game plan by dominating possession time and waiting for their opportunity to strike. After several shot attempts, the Knights were finally rewarded when Freshman Soana Akinaka found the back of the net for her first career collegiate goal. The onslaught of offense continued, and in the 17th minute, Matia Murray picked a corner to provide the Knights with a two-goal advantage. Despite the early deficit, the Spirits would not lay down and were right back in the game when the conference's leading scorer, Darilyn Nieto, buried her 16th goal of the season to cut the lead in half. Just over ten minutes later the game would be tied after a long-range shot found the back of the net for Salem. Southern Virginia controlled possession until the whistle to signal the end of the first half, but it was Spirits who had newfound confidence in their chances against the defending champs.

In the second half, Southern Virginia took over. The match turned into a shooting fest for the Knights' attackers as they totaled fifteen shots in the half compared to Salem's three. Abby Klusman was the first to strike gold to put the Knights in front with her first of the season, putting the Spirits back on their heels. Klusman's goal was followed by several more Southern Virginia scoring chances, including one crossbar and several close calls. Just over five minutes later, Vanessa Storey came up with a loose ball, deked her way toward the Spirit's goal, and found an unmarked Emmy Giles, who made no mistake to score her first of the year and push the lead to 4-2. It was an offensive clinic in the second half from the Knights to advance to 1-0-1 in conference play and finished with their best offensive output of the season.

Southern Virginia will return home to face Meredith College on Saturday at Knights Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 PM. For the most up-to-date details and information on the team, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knight_wsoc on Instagram.