NEWBERRY, S.C. – Where were you on October 24th, 1999? Maybe you were a freshman in college, cramming for a midterm. Or perhaps settling in to watch the Atlanta Braves take a 2-0 lead over the New York Yankees in the World Series. The Newberry Lady Indian soccer team was finishing off South Atlantic Conference rival Lenoir-Rhyne 2-1, heading into the SAC tournament with a school record four conference wins. The future of Indian women’s soccer looked bright on the horizon.
And after that win, there was nothing.
No conference wins in 29 attempts. Almost four years of futility.
That futility ended on Saturday afternoon, as the Indians defeated the Mars Hill Lion 2-0 at the Newberry Soccer Complex. The Indians got it done with terrific team defense and an offensive attack that, for the fifth straight game, out-shot their opponent.
“We are very pleased to end this ugly streak,” said an excited head coach Juan Pablo Favero. “It’s very difficult to put this win into words. This win is a testament to our hard work and the dedication of our young team.”
The only player on this years team that had experienced any part of this losing skid was Newberry junior Kristin Parker, being the only returning player off of last years squad. So it was fitting that she scored the game winning goal in the 3rd minute, on a rocket shot outside of the box. The goal was Parker’s first of the season.
The Indians came out of the gate strong, dominating for the first thirty minutes of the game, spending that time nearly entirely in Mars Hill territory. The Lions made the proper adjustments late in the first half, but failed to capitalize, as the Lady Indians went into halftime up 1-nil. After the intermission Mars Hill came out like a team-possessed, attacking with Newberry aggressive fervor, turning their momentum into several good looks at the net at the beginning the second half.
That’s when the game turned into the Danielle Beckerle show.
Beckerle, fighting flu-like symptoms, put on a goalkeeping clinic as she swallowed six shots in the match, five in the second-half, helping her to record her third shut-out of the season. Lions defender Helen Brown challenged first in the 48th minute, sending a shot at Beckerle’s left, which she snatched up. Then, Mars Hill leading scorer Becky Roa sent a laser shot in the Indian box. Again, diving save Beckerle.
The Indians finally got some breathing room in the 76th minute, as Inga Woiwode found Brooke Tumblin off a quick restart after a foul. Tumblin caught the Lions defenders napping as she raced on the left wing to corral Woiwode’s pass, and placed the ball past Lion’s freshman keeper Claudia Cala.
“As good as some of the individual performances were,” elaborated Favero. “One cannot emphasize enough the play of our defenders throughout the entire game. With a couple of exceptions, we neutralized the Lion’s attack at every turn.”
As the Indians left the field victorious, there was only one thing left to do: Run to the center of campus to ring the Newberry’s Victory Bell, the same bell that alerts the campus of every important Indian athletic win. No women’s soccer player had every rung that old church bell.
That is, until today.
The Indians face a match at Gaffney, against Limestone College this Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. Then they travel to Salisbury, N.C. on Saturday, to take on SAC-rival Catawba under the lights at 7.
