Courtesy of Newberry College Athletics
NEWBERRY — The Newberry College field hockey team (8-5, 5-3 South Atlantic Conference) dropped their match last week against the Lander Bearcats 2-3.
The teams started the match going back and forth until the Wolves took a pair of corners in the ninth minute. After inserting the ball on the second corner, sophomore midfielder Stembile Chikoore (Harare, Zimbabwe) scored off of an assist from freshman midfielder Lieke Varenkamp (Middelburg, Netherlands). Chikoore and Varenkamp both took shots following another penalty corner later in the quarter, but were unable to find the back of the cage again and the Wolves took their one-goal lead into the second quarter.
The Bearcats would make quick work of the lead, scoring at the end of the 17th minute and evening the score. The Wolves had a chance to reclaim the lead but junior defender Hailey Moore (Greenwood, Del.) had her penalty stroke blocked by the Bearcats’ keeper. The teams took only one more shot combined in the rest of the second quarter and entered halftime even at one goal a piece.
Once again, the Wolves and Bearcats were locked in a defense battle in the third quarter. Junior defender Sanne Pronk (Eindhoven, Netherlands) broke the tie and gave the Wolves the lead back. However, with less than 30 seconds remaining in the quarter, Lander drew the game even once again and the teams entered the final quarter even at two goals.
The Bearcats quickly claimed their first lead of the match in the 48th minute and did not look back. The Wolves were unable to find a shooting opportunity in the final quarter despite controlling the ball a roughly even amount with the Bearcats, and fell 2-3 to Lander.