SALISBURY, N.C. - Sophomore Lainey Nichols scored a pair of first half goals as third-seeded Catawba defeated visiting Newberry 2-1 in an opening round match of the 2006 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Soccer Tournament on Tuesday night at Frock Field.

The Catawba Indians improve to 11-4-3 and advance to play #7-seed Presbyterian in a Friday semifinal at Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, N.C.  Newberry, the sixth-seed, ends its season at 8-8-2.

Nichols notched her first goal of the season in the 17th minute as she took a shot from just outside the box and placed it into the upper right corner to stake Catawba to a 1-0 lead.  The sophomore would collect her second of the match four minutes later with a shot that grazed the crossbar.

Newberry was held without a shot in the first half, but came on strong in the final 30 minutes.  Inga Woiwode (El Paso, Texas) took the first attempt for the visitors just before the hour mark and two minutes later Kathleen Blake made a save on a shot from Lindsey Landgrebe (Springfield, Ill.) to keep Newberry off the board.  Landgrebe had settled a flick by Ashleigh Mayer (St. Peters, Mo.) on a corner kick just in front of the six, but was denied at point-blank range.

Another chance by Newberry in the 66th minute was foiled when a shot by Greta Hewett (Charleston, S.C.) hit the post.  Woiwode finally put Newberry on the board in the 78th minute as she dribbled in from the side and shot post Blake.  Newberry had two corner kicks in the final 10 minutes, but were unable to produce an equalizer.

"Although we are disappointed about the result and the end of the season, we are extremely proud of the heart, determination, and character the team showed," head coach Juan Pablo Favero said. "They never stopped believing they could turn the result around, and a couple of inches here and there and the history might have been different. Our ladies represented each other, the program, and Newberry College well tonight. Our hearts are hurting, but we will use the steps we took in the right direction this year to allow us to continue to build the championship team we are so close to becoming."