In a tensely fought encounter, the Charleston Southern Lady Bucs edged Liberty, 3-2, Friday at Buccaneer Field in the Big South opener for both squads.

Liberty was the choice to take home the conference crown in preseason, but it was the Bucs who would begin conference play in promising fashion, as CSU controlled the attack in the early going. Michelle Dennis (Ann Arbor, Mich.) had the first attack of the game at the three minute mark, as her run put her in past the final Liberty defender and forced Liberty keeper Ashley Nyholt to come out of the box, but the shot would land wide to the near side.

The Bucs domination continued throughout the first 30 minutes, with Jen Vroman (Piscataway, N.J.), Emma Mattsson (Helsingborg, Sweden) and Sarah Catenacci (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) applying constant pressure toward the Liberty net. Mattsson came closest to breaking the deadlock on two occasions. First her chipped shot in the 14th minute flew over Nyholt but was denied by the post, and then an excellent effort in the 24th was cast aside well by the sprawling Liberty keeper.

Just as it seemed Liberty was beginning to control the game, highlighted by three corner kicks and three shots over a five minute period, the Lady Bucs would illuminate the scoreboard for the first time on the day at the 31:00 mark.

Vroman began the successful attack with an excellently placed cross to Dennis, who wisely passed off across the box to an open Mattsson. The Swede cooly finished into the lower middle of the net to give the Bucs the first lead on the day and her second goal on the season.

On the very next attack for either side, the Flames would equalize. A strong run into the CSU end was converted into paydirt when Christina McDonald made a nice pass to Maria Owen, whose effort found its way past goalie Jena Uvalle (Mt. Dora, Fla.) to equalize the score at the interval.

The Lady Bucs would not be deterred by the goal, beginning the second half as strongly as they began the first. Marky Boyce (Woodbridge, Va.) began the proceedings in the 47th, with her effort forcing Nyholt to react quickly and save an otherwise sure goal.

Space was opening for the Buccaneers, particularly toward the far end of the field. Vroman and the newly substituted Christine Bethke (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) exploited this seam in the Flame defense, with the Jersey native finding the junior Minnesotan racing unguarded down the far flank. Bethke continued her run down the far end line and crossed to Dennis, who beat her defender and quickly flicked the cross past Nyholt into the net to return the lead to the home side.

Emotions intensified following the goal, with both teams trading fouls as the two schools fought for the advantage in the midfield. One such foul produced a free kick in a dangerous spot, just outside of the right side of the Liberty box in the 67th minute. Vroman stepped forward to take the kick and fired a strong effort on net, which Nyholt parried but could not prevent from crossing the line for CSU's third goal of the day.

The goal, Vroman's first in her Lady Buc career, gave the Rider transfer her third and fourth points on the day and represented the fourth consecutive Buccaneer goal in which Vroman has either scored or assisted.

Down 3-1, the Flames rose to life. Maggie Woody and Amy Oberlin were on hand on several occassions to put dangerous efforts towards the CSU goal, but Uvalle ensured the Bucs would maintain the two goal margin with several clutch saves. The Floridian's best effort, though, would come on an indirect free kick inside the box. Woody attempted to push the ball forward to a crowd of Flame attackers near the net, but Uvalle raced to block the effort, ensuring that the ball would be cleared to safety.

CSU could only deny hard-charging Liberty momentarily, however, as Woody's corner kick eluded Uvalle in a crowded box, leaving Oberlin free to place the ball in the net and cut the deficit to one.

The final ten minutes of the game would prove to be intense, as highlights included Woody hitting the post in the 82nd minute, an excellent diving save by Uvalle on a Woody effort to maintain the lead in the 87th, and a yellow card to Liberty's head coach among other excitement. The Lady Bucs would survive it all, however, emerging victorious in their maiden Big South voyage of the season.

Big South play continues for the Bucs next Wednesday, October 3, when they travel to Winthrop to face the Lady Eagles.