GREENWOOD — The Newberry Wolves womens lacrosse team fought hard in their season opener, but was unable to close the deal, losing to Lander 13-12 on the road Saturday afternoon. The Wolves are now 0-1 on the season.
Preseason all conference pick Chloe Wood got Newberry off to a great start as she scored the first goal of her sophomore season, just 39 seconds into the contest. The Bearcats would respond quickly; however, as Mary Claire Robinson netted a goal less than a minute later to even the score. Kasey Bronco gave Lander the lead less than seven minutes into the contest.
Newberry would go on the offensive a short time later, as Wood assisted Sophie Moore to tie the score at two. Junior transfer Kelly Martyn got her Newberry career off to a great start with her first goal less than a minute later. Martyn continued to shine offensively as she scored an unassisted goal to give the Wolves a 4-2 lead. The Bearcats quickly responded as Lanie Graves scored with about 15 minutes to play in the first half, but Moore scored again to keep the lead at two goals for Newberry.
Two more goals by Lander tied the score at five, but Wood scored her second goal to give the lead right back to the Wolves. Robinson tied the score at six less than a minute later, with an unassisted goal; then she gave the Bearcats a 7-6 lead with another one. Alyssa Suchan scored 43 seconds later to extend the lead out to 8-6, but goals by Madalyn Messersmith, Wood and Moore sent Newberry into the locker room with tons of momentum and a 9-8 lead.
The second half saw a defensive struggle as neither team was able to take off offensively. Graves tied the score at nine with a goal less than a minute into the second half, but nine minutes went by without a score before Robinson scored her fourth goal to give the Bearcats a 10-9 lead. Freshman Marissa Plumer scored her first collegiate goal less than two minutes later to tie the score at 10. After Bronco scored her second goal to push Lander back into the lead, 10 minutes went by before Plumer scored again to make it 11-11.
Plumer scored her third goal to make it 12-11, with 2:30 showing on the clock, but Robinson scored her fifth goal less than a minute later to send the game into overtime. The overtime saw neither team gain much traction until Suchan ended the contest with her third goal with less than a minute remaining.
Despite the loss, there were several distinct positives for a young Newberry team. The Wolves recorded more than twice as many ground balls as the Bearcats, winning the category by a margin of 47-20. Newberry also won the draw control battle 15-12 and outshot Lander 37-28 on the afternoon. All three statistical wins bode well for the team going forward.
The Wolves will look to bounce back in their first home contest Saturday, February 8 at 7 p.m. against Chowan.