Hattiesburg, Miss. – University of Texas at Brownsville got first half goals from Nicole Heer and Leah Russell as they defeat No. 9 William Carey University 2-1 in opening round action of the 29^th Annual NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship.

WCU jumped out first as Malin Barrulf hammered home a Tori McDevitt corner kick in the 8^th minute to stake the Lady Crusaders to an early 1-0 lead. The Lady Scorpions answered in the 26^th minute as Nicole Heer scored from the middle of the box to tie the game at 1-1.

UTB took the lead for good as Leah Russell slipped a shot in from 35 yards out to put the Lady Scorpions up 2-1.

In a nip and tuck second half both teams threatened repeatedly but the defense's held strong as UTB ran out winners.

The Lady Crusaders finish the season at 14-5-1.  UT-Brownsville improves 15-3-1 to and advances to the NAIA round of 16 in Orange Beach, AL.