NEWBERRY, S.C. – The Newberry women’s soccer team opened its season in hard-fought fashion as they faced Erskine College tonight at the Newberry Soccer Complex. The Lady Indians battled the Flying Fleet to a 1-1 tie after two overtime periods featuring gritty defensive efforts from both squads. Although Newberry outshot the Fleet 19-8, it still wasn’t enough to put a second goal in the back of the net.
“I think we were extremely nervous as a team in the first half,” said head coach Juan Pablo Favero. “The first 15 minutes we had some chances to score but then we gave up a very soft goal. We could have been up two or three goals at that point but being down hurt us a little. However, we kept working hard, we didn’t quit and we just kept playing better as the game went on. We dominated the second half and played great in both overtime periods.”
The early portion of the first half featured good team ball control from Erskine as they put constant pressure on the Newberry attackers. Erskine’s display of ball control was capped with a goal by freshman forward Aisha Reid (Columbia, S.C.), who netted a ball from junior forward Jamie Locke (Brentwood, Tenn.) at the start of the 11th minute.
The Newberry offense reared its head promptly after the Fleet’s goal. Just minutes later, freshman midfielder Alie Brady (Summerville, S.C.) crashed a shot off the crossbar, narrowly missing the goal. In turn, the Lady Indian defenders dug deep and challenged the Fleet forwards, giving the offense a spark. The offensive surge produced five corner kicks in the remainder of the half as well as several shots on goal.
In the second half, the Lady Indians came out firing as sophomore forward Adriana Farfan (West Palm Beach, Fla.)scored her first goal of the season on a breakaway goal on the ground, just right of the goalkeeper. Sophomore forward Inga Woiwode (El Paso, Texas) made the assist in the 47th minute. The Newberry offense kept the pressure on Erskine and were rewarded with eight more corner kicks in the second half. Erskine escaped several close calls, including a direct kick from Brady that Fleet goalkeeper junior Katy Jackson (Lexington, S.C.) barely tipped up and over the crossbar.
Both overtime periods produced little offensive prowess. Neither team was able to pose any real threat on goal as just four total shots were taken in extra time. Newberry sophomore goalkeeper Danielle Beckerle (St. Louis, Mo.) ended the game with three saves while Erskine’s Jackson recorded seven. The Lady Indians dominated the action from the corners as they posted 14 corner kicks to just one from the Fleet.
Next up for the Lady Indians is Clayton State University on August 27. The action begins at 2 p.m. at the Newberry Soccer Complex. Erskine stays on the road to face the Lander University Bearcats at 5 p.m. on August 31.
