NEWBERRY, S.C. – For over 102 minutes on Saturday afternoon, the Lady Indians engaged themselves in a battle of wills with the 13th ranked team in the country, South Atlantic Conference preseason favorite Tusculum, only to be bested on a golden goal in the second overtime period, falling 1-0. The Indians are now 8-3 on the season and 3-2 in the SAC.
Although the match resulted in Newberry’s third loss of the season, the feeling from head coach Juan Pablo Favero was not one of dejection from a tough loss, but one of optimism on how his Lady Indians played with their collective all, never giving up to a team with an intimidating reputation.
“I am so very proud of the girls today,” said Favero. “Their effort and the defensive intensity were there all game. But to lose 1-0 to a nationally ranked team in double overtime, shows how far this program has come in a short amount of time.”
The play, as the score indicated was most decidedly even, although the Lady Indians did have the two best chances to end the match, once in regulation and once in the first overtime period. In the 26th minute, Adriana Farfan (West Palm Beach, Fla.) displayed some great footwork to beat the Pioneer defenders, and rocketed a shot towards the goal. The shot was placed out of reach of All-SAC keeper Alyssa Alterman’s (Covington, La.) range, but the ball bounced off the bottom of the crossbar, and was cleared out of immediate harm by Tusculum.
As regulation ended, and overtime began, Katherine Prete (Colorado Springs, Colo.) found some space on the left wing, dribbling deep into Pioneer territory. Inga Woiwode (El Paso, Tex.) blew past the Pioneer defense, setting herself up for a shot off the Prete crossing pass. The cross was delivered, but Woiwode was unable to redirect the shot for a score, as the ball rolled harmlessly to the right side.
Just one minute elapsed in the second overtime period, when the Pioneers were able to get the ball deep into Newberry territory near the corner flag. Sarah Barnes (Rolla, Mo.) battled with Pioneer forward Becky Carreiro (Mississauga, Ontario) near the corner flag. The ball was popped loose long enough for Carreiro to make a pass to Amber Ferchaud (Gonzales, La.) in the Indian box. Ferchaud found just enough space to shoot the ball far post, out of reach of Newberry keeper Danielle Beckerle (St. Louis, Mo.).
Beckerle played all 102 minutes of the match, making eight saves total.
“I think that a tie would have been a fair result today the way both these teams played this afternoon,” elaborated Favero. “It really isn’t fair for either of these teams to lose today. The match did not come out in our favor, but we will continue to work hard and play hard.”
The Indians have a chance to show off their hard work twice this coming week, hosting matches between Converse College on Oct. 5th, and Queens College Oct. 7th.
