NEWBERRY- A final period spark pushed the Wolves ahead in a tightly contested matchup against Chowan University. The Newberry men's lacrosse team (1-0, South Atlantic Conference) were able to separate themselves from the Hawks (0-1), resulting in an 11-9 victory to open up the 2020 home slate. 

The first 30 minutes of play suggested a tightly contested matchup throughout but the Wolves ramped up the energy in the fourth period, separating themselves by a four point margin. Senior Kyle Dunklee led the surge, scoring a hattrick in the fourth quarter alone. The Pearland, Tx. native scored three goals in a row which put his team up 9-5, with 10 minutes remaining in the match. 

The Wolves got off to a slow start, allowing the Hawks to go up 1-0 in the 12th minute, but quickly fired back to equalize a minute later. Garet McMahon opened up the scoring for the Wolves with style, as he slotted in a behind the back shot for his first collegiate goal. Newberry and Chowan traded goals for the next 20 minutes, resulting in a very even 4-4 match at the end of the first half. Freshman Scott Reed and Chris Bukta also recorded their first collegiate goals for the Wolves. 

The Hawks came out with energy scoring in the first minutes of the second half, but Newberry halted any sign of Chowan taking over as they capitalized on two out of thirteen shots taking in the 3rd period. Reed equalized the contest at 5-5 after receiving a beautiful pass across the face of the goal by Zachary Sunderland for an easy finish. Reed went on to score his third goal of the match, just two minutes later. 

The Wolves went into the last period with a one goal advantage at 6-5 but Dunklee took matters into his own hands by scoring three consecutive goals. The Senior made a significant impact during the 2018-19 season, scoring 15 goals and tallying nine assists. Dunklee showed no signs of slowing down this year as he fired his team up and into victory. Chowan would make a push following Dunklee's spree, scoring two goals a minute apart which landed the score at 9-7 with six minutes left. A solo effort by Neil Swingruber extended the Wolves lead and Messersmith added another shortly after to make the score 11-7 with a few minutes left. The Hawks would attempt a comeback, scoring two goals in the final minutes but Newberry's late period execution left them without an answer. 

Reed led the Wolves with five points, notching three goals and two assists. Goalkeeper Jahn Skinner-Ligon  made 11 saves in his first career start to lead the Wolves to their first victory of the year. The Wolves out shot the hawks by a 48-33 margin. Senior Justin Messersmith aided his team by winning an impressive 16 out of 20 face-offs. 

The Wolves hit the road on Saturday, Feb. 8 as they travel to face Mount Olive at 3 p.m.