SPARTANBURG – The Newberry Wolves (4-5, 2-4 South Atlantic Conference Carolinas) rode a second-half scoring surge to clinch a 4-1 victory over conference opponent the Converse Valkyries (1-8, 1-4 South Atlantic Conference Carolinas) on the road.
 
The first half was a struggle between these two teams, with both sides playing a very even game and fighting to a 1-1 halftime score. Fittingly, both first half goals were scored within two minutes of each other, with Newberry's Annie Wolford sending a pass from the top of the arc into Mariah Lee, who finished the goal in the 17th minute, and Converse's Maddie Yocklin responding in the 18th minute off of an assist from Marina Montes-Nino.
 
The halftime break made a world of difference for the Wolves, who came storming out as a completely different team offensively. During a stretch of just over 10 minutes, the Wolves were able to strike three times, and from the three different players.
 
In the 53rd minute, freshman Annie Wolford scored her first goal of the season off an assist from Farai Kawonde, and only two minutes later Shannon Springer got on the board with a shot of her own. Finally, Kawonde got in on the action off an assist from Brady Keeler in the 63rd minute, securing a final score of 4-1 in an important game for the Wolves.
 
The blowout victory rode heavily on that second half scoring surge, and head coach Hannah Dave attests the improvement to the team's halftime adjustments.
 
"We had a slow start in the first half, but really made some important changes for the second," Dave said. "The team fixed the small, but very important details that helped us keep the ball up in our attacking zone and create more attacking opportunities. The overall team play really improved and it started from our goalkeeper."
 
That goalkeeper was freshman Grace Lee, little sister of junior Mariah Lee, who was playing in the first start of her collegiate career. She finished the game with two saves on three shots on goal. Fellow freshman Casey McCabe also made an appearance late, without having to face any shot attempts.
 
The Wolves outshot the Valkyries 7-3 in shots on goal, as well as earning 10 penalty corners compared to Converse's six.
 
Newberry will be back on the road next weekend with a long trip up to New York. Their first opponent will be the Mercy Mavericks on Friday, October 12 at 3 pm in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.