Coker Field Hockey Drops 2-1 Battle to Wolves in Season Opener

HARTSVILLE, S.C. - The Coker College field hockey team competed in their first competition in 40-plus years on Wednesday (Sept. 5) afternoon on the Coker Athletic Field. The Cobras dropped a 2-1 battle to the visiting Newberry College Wolves in SAC Carolinas action.

After an evenly contested start to the first half of play, the Wolves jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 35th minute, and the Cobras headed into halftime trailing Newberry 2-0. In the second half of action, the Cobras controlled possession on the offensive side of the field and outshot the visiting Wolves 8-2.

Trailing by two scores with less than four minutes remaining, the Navy and Gold recorded their first goal of the season. Carla Deuble created the scoring opportunity with a heads up defensive play near midfield, gaining offensive possession for the Cobras. Next, Deuble rocketed a pass through a couple of defenders and found Alyssa Baronella-O'Toole on the left post of the goal. Baronella-O'Toole did the rest, maneuvering her way towards the center of the field and burying her shot in the bottom right corner of the cage.

Statistically, the Cobras outshot the Wolves 15-6 and created the same amount of penalty corners with six apiece. Offensively, Baronella-O'Toole led the Navy and Gold with five shots on goal and added a score to her stat line. In the cage, Kelsey Gibbons collected one save off of three shots on goal.

The Cobras will be back in action when they head to Pennsylvania and take on Millersville on Sunday (Sept. 16). Game time is scheduled for 12 p.m.

McDonald's Player of the Game - Alyssa Baronella-O'Toole