NEWBERRY- The Wolves' valiant effort against Tusculum was not enough as they Pioneers edged Newberry 10-11. Newberry (3-3, 0-1 South Atlantic Conference) closed down the deficit, coming out hot in the second half but could not overcome their opponent in the fourth period. 

The Pioneers would pummel the Wolves in the first period, scoring five out of 18 shots. Newberry would be out shot 27-12 in the first half as they could not figure out a solution for the Pioneers' Liam Macdonald, who scored three goals before halftime. Cole Bates gave the Wolves a surge of energy late in the second period as the sophomore scored two goals a minute apart, but Tusculum would end the half with a 6-3 advantage. 

The second half took a turn as the Wolves came out with a different mentality, piecing together an offensive rhythm. Justin Messersmith led the charge as the Senior scored two goals within two minutes to give Newberry the spark they were searching for in the first half. The two goals cut the lead to 7-5 and granted the Wolves a comeback opportunity. The two teams would trade goals right before the end of the third period, setting up a dramatic fourth quarter.

Newberry came out aggressively in the fourth period, stringing together passes in the midfield, which led to pristine offensive opportunities. Curtis Bukta would score his seventh goal of the season, cutting the lead to two. Messersmith recorded his third goal of the game with six minutes left in regulation, resulting in a 9-8 score. The Wolves wasted no time getting the ball back as Messersmith won the face-off against Tusculum's Andy Michalski. Zachary Sunderland would then level the score at nine after receiving a pass from Garret McMahon and slotting it past the keeper. The intensity in Setzler Field rose as the two teams would once again trade goals after Scott Reed secured his eleventh goal of the season. The Pioneers buckled down in the last five minutes of the game after Luke Doehring scored to give his team the final lead of the night. The Wolves fought hard to create opportunities in the final minute but were unable to get one past goalie Ross Geiger.

Justin Messersmith led the Wolves with three goals and tallied two assists. Scott Reed was behind him with one goal and two assists on the day. 

The Wolves return to conference play on Saturday on March 14 at 1 p.m as they face Lenoir-Rhyne.