NEWBERRY - The Newberry field hockey team rolled over Mount Olive in a resounding 6-0 victory in the Wolves' home opener.
Newberry (3-2, 2-1 South Atlantic Conference Carolinas) outshot Mount Olive (1-6, 1-4 South Atlantic Conference Carolinas) 29-3, taking advantage of multiple opportunities in front of the cage. Newberry's six goals, five of which came in a key seven-minute span in the third quarter, were the second-most in school history. The prolific offense also registered 29 shots on the afternoon, the fourth-most in the seven-year history of the program.
The Wolves were able to establish possession early, setting a steady tempo that would stand true throughout the game. The Trojans, who are in their first year as a program and are competing as full conference members, held the hosts scoreless for the first 22 minutes of play and played well despite the final score line.
After several shots on goal by the Wolves, freshman midfielder Carly Ellis was able to notch her first goal for the season and give Newberry the confidence to find the back of the net. The Trojans fought hard to end the half by only allowing one goal, but the Wolves came out firing on all cylinders in the second half after making halftime adjustments.
The Wolves displayed a very balanced offense in the second half, disallowing the Trojans from regaining possession and advancing past the midfield line. Marissa Plumer initiated the second half scoring surge, by taking a shot right outside the circle, which took a deflection and ended up in the back of the cage. Nearly two minutes after Plumer's goal, Haley Smith found herself inches from the goal line and slipped one in during a chaotic scrum after following up on her own shot which was saved by defender Mckenzie Yi.
Four minutes after the third goal the Wolves regained possession quickly and earned one of their 16 penalty corners. Seconds after the penalty corner was taken, senior midfielder Gabrielle Bazemore found the back of the net to notch her first goal of the season. Bazemore, Ellis and Plumer all scored their first collegiate goal in the contest. The balanced offensive attack yielded one goal each by six different goal scorers.
Alyssa Kessler scored her third of the season in the 37th minute, two minutes before Kristyna Oyola rounded out the scoring with her 14th career goal.
The Wolves locked down defensively by only allowing three shots in the entire match. Charlotte Bragard was able to seal her second win out of three games played, following an impressive two-game performance over two ranked teams last weekend.
The Wolves look to continue the two game winning streak as they go on to face conference opponent Converse College on the road on Sept. 28 at 11:00 a.m.
