HARTSVILLE - The Newberry College women's soccer team looked eager to start the 2009 campaign, scoring early and often against Coker College for a 4-1 season-opening win.

Newberry (1-0-0) poured on the offense and shut Coker (0-1-0) down on the defensive end, outshooting the Cobras 22-2 en route to the victory. Newberry goalkeeper Emily Rhoades (Buckley, Wash.) earned her first win of the season, shutting out Coker for 62 minutes before Megan Hrenchir (Lawrence, Kan.) took over in net and held on for the scarlet and gray.

Newberry jumped on Coker early, scoring two goals in the game's first 13 minutes and netting all the team's four goals in the first half.

Coker didn't find the net until the 74th minute, but by then it was too little, too late. Coker's Sarah Kinsey put a shot from just inside the penalty area past Hrenchir to give the Cobras their only goal of the match.

Newberry jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute, converting a corner kick for the game's first score. Jesse Langdon (Raleigh, N.C) boomed a corner kick that Amberly Fowler (Taylors, S.C.) headed in to put the scarlet and gray on the board.

Yet Newberry wouldn't be content to sit on a slim lead. A little over three minutes later, Taryn Bristol (Charlotte, N.C.) and Ashley Reetz (Summerville, S.C.) set up Laura Mottel (North Augusta, S.C.) on a pure freshman combination that went through the Coker defense to put Newberry ahead on the eventual game winning goal, 2-0.

Bristol, Mottel and Reetz made a positive statement about Newberry's freshman class, as Reetz and Bristol each tallied three shots on goal in addition to Mottel's conversion.

Those three wouldn't be the only newcomers to make an impact, however. After a Sara Geisman (Middleburg Heights, Ohio) pass split the Coker back line through the middle, freshman Amber Chase (Aiken, S.C.) found the back of the net in the 32nd minute to make the score 3-0 in favor of the scarlet and gray.

Newberry kept up the attack throughout the first half, recording 11 shots without allowing any from the Cobras. The scarlet and gray put the pressure on Coker goalkeeper Carrie Hudnell, forcing her to make five saves in each half.

With just over three minutes left in the half, it appeared Newberry would head into the break with a 3-0 lead. Coker had foiled several scarlet and gray opportunities by drawing the Newberry attack offsides and the team hadn't tallied a shot since Chase's goal. With halftime drawing nearer in the 42nd minute, Lora Moore (Raleigh, N.C) found Amberly Fowler with a cross into the penalty area and Fowler found the net, giving Newberry the 4-0 lead.

The last Newberry women's squad to win its season opener was the 2006 team, which beat USC Aiken 2-1 and finished with an 8-8-2 record. Newberry plays its next game on Saturday, August 29, when the team opens the home portion of its 2009 schedule at 2 p.m. against USC Aiken.