MOBILE, Ala. - A furious second-half comeback by Thomas fell just short against No. 7 William Carey (Miss.), as the Crusaders picked up a 4-3 victory on Thursday evening at Mobile's (Ala.) The Jungle in the first game for both squads of the second annual The Sun Conference/Southern States Challenge. The Night Hawks fell to just 7-2-1 in their last 10 matches outside Thomasville. 

"I am very pleased with our performance tonight," Green and White coach Julie Orlowski said. "It is never nice to get the loss, but this was a great learning experience for us. In some ways, we see where we need to get better; in others, we realize the potential of our team.

"Due to some health issues, we needed all of our depth tonight. Katy Hunt and Carolina Ochoa played well in their first starts."

Thomas (3-1-1) needed only one minute to strike first, as Olivia Taylor scored the first of her two goals in the match, beating William Carey (5-0) goalkeeper Melanie Lefebvre following a pass from Anna Gray. The Crusaders responded, scoring the next four goals.

Kaylee Zettler (5) tied the affair in the 18th minute with an assist from Silvia Leonessi, ending the Night Hawks' 279:59 shutout streak. A Savanah Carter to Jamie Holifield (1) connection in the 33rd minute put the Crusaders in front, 2-1. Kelly Stubbington notched the first of her two goals in the 43rd minute on a penalty kick to give William Carey a two-goal edge at intermission.

Stubbington's (2) final goal came in the 67th minute to make the score 4-1.

The Night Hawks' rally began in the 72nd minute when Taylor (4) beat Crusader netminder Sabrina Lang. Taylor has scored two goals in consecutive games.

Whitley Anderson (5) tickled the twine with just 49 seconds to play following a Taylor shot that deflected off the crossbar, trimming the deficit to just one. However, Thomas was unable to register a shot down the stretch and suffered its first defeat in 313 days.

Stubbington had a team-high three shots on goal.

Taylor ended with a game-high four shots on goal.

Lefebvre (5-0) made six saves in 69:20. Lang played the final 20:40.

Night Hawk goalkeeper Kara Houston (3-1-1) made nine saves in 90 minutes. 

Orlowski's team fell to 0-3 all-time in The Sun Conference/Southern States Challenge.

Thomas concludes play in the tournament Saturday when the Night Hawks face No. 12 Mobile at 4:30 p.m. ET.