SALISBURY, N.C. — The Newberry men’s soccer team won in commanding fashion Wednesday evening in their first South Atlantic Conference matchup of the season, defeating the Catawba Indians 3-0 at the Frock Soccer Complex. With the victory Newberry moves to 2-3-1 overall and 1-0-0 in SAC play.
It didn’t take long for the Wolves to find the back of the net in the match. Senior midfielder Fabrizio Bucco connected on a cross by Ibrahim Nadir just 85 seconds into the match to give the Wolves the advantage.
The Wolves didn’t let up, outshooting Catawba 20-11 on the night all while adding constant pressure to Catawba whenever the Indians had possession.
Junior forward Daniel Reyes found the back of the net for the Wolves before halftime, scoring on a difficult shot that was once again assisted by Nadir.
Nadir, a freshman forward who scored twice in the home opener against West Liberty, netted a goal of his own in the second half. The Willich, Germany native took a shot from the top of the Catawba box that went to the upper right corner of the Indians goal.
“Anytime you can get a result on the road it’s a good thing, especially in conference play,” Head Coach Bryce Cooper said following the game. “We started the game really well to get an early goal and I thought we dictated play well from that point on.
I was really proud of our defensive effort and pressure, which helped us win the ball back in good areas and get a needed shutout on the road. We left a few goals out there, but overall a good performance tonight against a good Catawba side.”
Brad Dixon secured the win as goalkeeper, giving the senior his sixth career shutout. Dixon recently surpassed 300 career saves and is the NCAA Division II active career leader in saves.
Sophomore Jacob Williams took over goalkeeping duties for Dixon late in the second half and preserved the shutout with two stellar saves.
Catawba received a red card 20 minutes into the match and played with 10 players for the remainder of the game after the booking.
As a reminder, the Saturday, September 15 men’s and women’s soccer conference games between the Newberry Wolves and the Carson-Newman Eagles have both been postponed due to inclement weather.
Both Newberry and Carson-Newman are working together to reschedule both the men’s and women’s matches at the first available opportunity. The teams may play a doubleheader or may choose to schedule the men’s and women’s matches separately.
The Wolves return to action next week when they host Anderson on Wednesday, September 19. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at the Smith Road Complex.