Salisbury, N.C. – Taking on No. 9 Catawba in the first round of the SAC women's soccer tournament on Saturday, the Wolves battled to the last second but were unable to come away with the upset, falling 1-0.
 
Heading to Salisbury for the second time in a week following their 2-0 defeat in the regular season finale, Newberry was well aware of the potency of the Indians' offense. With 57 goals on the season, Catawba averaged 3.17 per contest heading into the game, leading the SAC by a wide margin.
 
After keeping the game close on Wednesday, the Wolves headed into the rematch confident they would fare better this time around. By marking their players closely and not allowing them to get into open space, the Newberry defense stymied their opponent in the first half, not allowing a single shot on goal.
 
Late in the period, the Wolves threatened to take the lead as they sent the ball into the box repeatedly, forcing Catawba to commit on defense. But with redshirt junior Sierra Chavez's shot attempt at the far post was blocked, the Indians were able to clear the ball and end the threat.
 
Coming out of the break locked in a scoreless tie, Catawba turned up the intensity. They controlled the opening minutes of the second half, forcing two saves and three corner kicks. The Wolves held strong through this relentless attack, but just when it seemed the defense had earned itself a reprieve, the Indians finally found net.
 
After a second straight corner was denied a shot, the Wolves cleared the ball to midfield, but the ball was sent right back in a Catawba counterattack. Forward Helen Summerell took possession at the edge of the box, taking a couple touches before firing a shot inside the far post for her sixth goal of the season.
 
Upon taking the lead, the Indians continued to look for scores. But the Wolves' defense continued to deny this potent attack, as they continued to clear the ball out the far line when necessary. Despite allowing 12 corner kicks in the half, they played with physicality in the box and did not allow Catawba to generate good looks off these opportunities. When the Indians were able to put a shot on goal, keeper Delaney Hood was there to keep the game close as she made four saves in the half.
 
With the clock winding down, Newberry aggressively pushed the ball upfield as they sought to equalize. Catawba's excellent ball control made scoring opportunities difficult to come by, but forward Jaidyn Jacobs forced Catawba keeper Jamie Kazenmayer to make a pair of saves in the final ten minutes of play.
 
With the Indians hanging on to their one-goal lead, the Wolves had their season come to a close in a tight loss. It marks a remarkable turnaround for a team that began the season with eight straight defeats; after the season looked hopeless halfway through, the Wolves turned things around to rattle off victories in seven of their next eight games. And while they couldn't quite get a win against the ninth-best team in Division II, they showed their resilience one last time as they fought until the very end.