SALISBURY, N.C.– Freshman forward Nia Gaither's goal in the 83rd minute broke up a scoreless tie and guided the Queens University of Charlotte women's soccer team (5-1; 1-0 SAC) to a 1-0 victory over Catawba (3-1; 0-1 SAC) in the South Atlantic Conference opener for both teams.
 
After a prolonged scoreless start for both squads, a connection between junior forward Lulu Phan and Gaither ushered Queens into the win column to begin conference play. Gaither recorded her team-best fourth goal of the season while Phan notched her second assist of 2019.
 
Queens dominated the shots category 16-8 and shots on goal 8-4, but took a long time getting one past Indians' goalkeeper, Shelby Thompson. Meanwhile, the Royals' freshman goalkeeper Erica Turner made four saves of her own earning her second career shutout.
 
Queens continues its four game road stretch Saturday, September 21 in Harrogate, Tenn., for another conference matchup with Lincoln Memorial at 1 p.m.