Newberry, S.C. – After witnessing their counterparts win a dramatic upset over Lenoir-Rhyne, the Newberry men's soccer team came out eager for their own upset, winning 2-1 after a late goal of their own.
 
Playing their home finale, the Newberry seniors were honored before kickoff with a brief ceremony. And with a thrilling match, they were happy to put on one more show for the home crowd.
 
The Wolves kicked off the game with an aggressive push upfield, forcing the Bears' defense to clear the ball out back for a corner kick. Midfielder Adrian Garcia came up for the kick, delivering a beautiful cross to sophomore Harry McDonnell, who headed the ball in for his third goal of the season.
 
After stunning the Bears with a score less than a minute into the game, the Wolves were hard-pressed to protect their advantage. Lenoir-Rhyne's defense responded by only allowing two shots over the remainder of the period, giving their offense plenty of time to threaten goal.
 
Under consistent pressure, the Wolves defense came through repeatedly as the half progressed, denying clean looks at goal and forcing the Bears to work for every shot. And when the shots did come through, keeper Pablo Cubas was there to stop them.
 
As time ticked down, it seemed the Wolves would head into halftime with the advantage, but the Bears would find net on their own corner kick late in the half. Mirroring the play at the start of the match, midfielder Diego Delgado sent the 44^th-minute cross to forward Jaime Poza, who headed the ball in to equalize.
 
After being largely contained after their early goal, the Wolves offense came out of the break determined to regain the lead. They were able to exercise better control and threaten goal more frequently, giving their defense some breathing room and keeping their opponent honest.
 
As the match wore on it got more and more physical, with neither side willing to yield any ground without a fight. The Bears put four more shots on goal in the half, but Cubas was in position to make the save each time, giving him nine on the day.
 
With both daylight and time winding down, the prospect of overtime seemed likely. But the Wolves had one more statement to make.
 
Getting the ball just past midfield in the 88^th minute, midfielder Ethan Orozco had his pass disrupted by a Lenoir-Rhyne defender, but was able to close in and steal the ball back. After taking a quick touch to gain some space, the freshman fired a shot from 22 yards out to find the corner of the net for his first collegiate goal.
 
With less than three minutes remaining, the Wolves just had to hang on to record the upset. They were more than up to the task as they did not allow a single shot over the remainder of play. After a Bears setpiece was denied in the closing seconds, the Wolves concluded their Senior Day with a hard-earned victory, still in the hunt for the conference playoffs.
 
The team will next play at Mars Hill University on Saturday, October 30 at 3:30 p.m. before playing their season finale at Catawba on November 3.