Indiana, PA - The Newberry Field Hockey team split their first two games of the season over this last weekend. The Wolves opened the season on Friday with a heartbreaking loss to the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) Crimson Hawks that saw the Wolves respond quickly to a Hawks goal but a IUP goal with under 4 minutes left proved to be the difference. However, the Wolves got a chance to respond on Sunday against the Seton Hill Griffins and they jumped on that opportunity. The Wolves jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first half and never looked back, winning 5-0.

How it unfolded:

Friday September 3rd: Newberry vs IUP: The opening game of the season was a defensive battle with neither team being able to put the ball in the back of the cage in the first 30 minutes of play. However it didn't come from a lack of attempts as the Wolves put up 8 total shots in the first half, 3 of which were on target. However, the Wolves defense was sturdy, only allowing the Hawks to put up 3 shots in the first half, 2 of those being on target. The teams went into the break even at 0-0 and looked to break the deadlock in the second half and the Hawks would do just that. With just over 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Paeton Hartmann broke the deadlock and the Wolves found themselves down 1-0 as we headed to the last 15 minutes of action. The Wolves were resilient, however, and just over a minute after the 4th quarter began, Millie Gallagher found freshman Tamsin Bangert who opened her collegiate scoring account with the equalizer, making the score 1-all. As the clock started to tick down, it seemed that we were destined to head to sudden death overtime. But with just under 4 minutes left, the Hawks took a penalty corner that had the initial shot blocked by Yasmin De Meyer but it led to a free ball in the middle of the circle that was put in by a diving shot by the Hawks' Lizzi Clemmer. The Wolves fought to try to find the equalizer and had a chance with time running out but it was thwarted by the Hawks defense as IUP came away with the 2-1 win. 

The second half was a much different story from what we saw from the teams in the first half, both teams put up double digit shots and over twice as many shots on target as they had in the first half. For the Wolves, goal-scorer Tamsin Bangert led the squad with 4 shots with 3 on target, followed closely by Lily Drury, Caitlin Wassermann, and Yasmin De Meyer each with 3 shots with 2 on target. 

Between the posts, Grace Lee did all she could to keep the Wolves in the game recording 7 saves. However, Hawks' goalie, Amanda Zaner kept the Wolves at bay recording 11 saves on the 12 shots on target that the Wolves' attack threw at her. 

After the tough loss, the Wolves looked ahead to Sunday where they would face Seton Hill and hoped to close the weekend with a win. 

Sunday, September 5th: Seton Hill vs Newberry: The Wolves came to George P. Miller Stadium on Sunday and looked to respond and capitalize on the chances that they created in the last game and they did just that. The Wolves wasted no time to make that response as Yasmin De Meyer put the Wolves on the board from the assist from Millie Gallagher not even 5 minutes into the game. Just over 2 minutes later, reigning SACC scoring champion, Lily Drury made it 2-0 and the Wolves never looked back. With 4:31 left in the half, Tamsin Bangert scored her second goal in as many games and the Scarlet and Gray took a 3-0 lead to the locker room. It took a little longer for the Wolves to find the breakthrough in the second half but with 5:55 left in the 3rd Quarter, Rachel Crowder found the back of the net from an assist from Bella Focht. Finally, 2 minutes into the 4th quarter, Yasmin De Meyer capped the Wolves scoring onslaught with her second goal of the game with an assist from Michaella Pirozzi and the Wolves would see the rest of the game out to secure their first win of the season. In total, Newberry had 26 shots led by Rachel Crowder with 6 with Carly Ellis and Lily Drury following closely with 4 of their own.

As stellar as the Wolves offense was, the Wolves defense responded strongly and was just as stout. Newberry went from allowing 9 shots on goal on Friday to only allowing 3 shots on goal on Sunday, all of which were saved by Grace Lee. 

When asked about her team's performance this weekend, Head Coach Hannah Dave said, "These two games against PSAC opponents taught us a lot and it showed what we are capable of as a team this year. We had learned our lessons from the loss against IUP and were able to turn it around against Seton Hill. We are very proud of this group and we are excited to continue working to improve as a whole"

What's Next?

The Scarlet and Gray return home this Labor Day weekend to practice and prepare for a weekend trip to St. Charles, Missouri for two games against Lindenwood University on Friday and Frostburg State on Sunday. The Wolves start SACC play at Belmont Abbey the next Saturday, September 18th and then play their first home game at Setzler Field on Sunday, September 19th against the Coker Cobras.