NEWBERRY, S.C. – Men's Soccer kicked off today in an afternoon South Atlantic Conference matchup against the visiting Railsplitters from Lincoln Memorial at Smith Road Complex in a battle of teams looking to get in the win column. The Wolves would drop their last match on the road to Limestone, and the Railsplitters would drop their last matchup against Shaw. Coach Justin Cook would look to lead his team to a victory today, also needing a result to gain some ground in conference play.

The matchup would kick off on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, but the Wolves looked to get ugly on the attack as within the first 10 minutes of the match, three shots by Newberry would threaten the LMU goalkeeper. The Railsplitters would then settle into the match as three shots from LMU would threaten senior goalkeeper Pablo Cubas (Playa del Hombre, Spain), forcing a save for one of the shots. 

The first half for the Wolves would go quietly, outside of the first ten minutes, as LMU would be able to limit the Wolves to a single shot by junior Uriel Zarracan (Bluffton, S.C.) in the latter 35 minutes. The same would be said for the Wolves as well as good goalkeeping from Cubas and the defense for Newberry would frustrate the Railsplitters, and it would take this match into the second half, tied at 0.

Kicking off the second half, the Wolves looked to gain the upper hand early as a shot by sophomore Henok Awoke (Marietta, Ga.) would go wide for him in less than a minute into the second half. The Railsplitters would then answer the call by going on the attack themselves, putting up three shots in the next 10 minutes to look for the opening goal in the second half. Unfortunately for Lincoln Memorial, that goal would be scored by sophomore Ferran Macian (Valencia, Spain) as he cut across the box to finish it with a right foot and put the Wolves up one. 

Drama would then ensue in the match as a penalty awarded to Lincoln Memorial would set up a one-on-one between Cubas and the penalty taker for the Railsplitters. This would not be the first time the goalkeeper from Playa del Hombre, Spain, would face a penalty as he would save a penalty in the previous matchup against Catawba, and the result would be the same for Cubas as he would save the penalty and preserve the lead for the Wolves.

Sensing the match getting away from them, the Railsplitters would increase the offensive effort in search of the tying goal, but it would be to no avail as the defense for the Wolves would hold strong and stellar goalkeeping play would preserve the lead and victory for the Wolves. The win would move the Wolves to three wins on the year, two wins in conference play, and the first home win of the season and Coach Justin Cook era here at Newberry.

The Wolves have the rest of the weekend off, but they will have a relatively quick turnaround as they hit the road to travel to Wingate, N.C. on September 28 for their South Atlantic Conference matchup against Wingate, scheduled for a 7 PM kickoff.