NEWBERRY, S.C. – Returning home for the first time in nearly three weeks, the Newberry College field hockey team put together a dominant second-half performance Saturday afternoon, erupting for five unanswered goals to shut out Wingate, 5-0, and remain perfect in conference play.
After a quiet opening half, the Wolves found their offensive rhythm in a big way, scoring three goals in a span of just three minutes in the third quarter before adding two more in the fourth to seal the convincing victory.
Newberry's defense set the tone early, completely shutting down the Bulldogs' attack and holding Wingate without a single shot throughout the first half. On the offensive end, the Wolves continued to apply pressure, firing seven shots toward goal but were unable to break through, sending the teams into halftime deadlocked at 0-0.
Coming out of the break with renewed energy, the Wolves wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. Payton Keeler threaded a perfectly placed pass through the defense to Wibien Dahmen, who found herself in front of the goalkeeper and capitalized on an opening to the right side of the cage to give Newberry a 1-0 advantage.
Less than two minutes later, it was déjà vu for the Bulldogs, as Keeler once again connected with Dahmen on a beautiful pass. Dahmen wasted no time finishing the opportunity, doubling the Wolves' lead with her second goal of the afternoon.
Moments later, Dahmen turned from scorer to facilitator, delivering a beautiful long-range pass to Finet Heemskerk, who rifled a shot past the Wingate goalkeeper to extend the lead to 3-0. In the blink of an eye, the Wolves had completely taken control of the contest, striking three times in as many minutes.
Defensively, Newberry continued to suffocate the Wingate attack, allowing the Bulldogs their first and only shot of the match in the third quarter, an attempt that sailed wide of the cage.
The Wolves carried their momentum into the final frame, where a new face joined the scoring party.
Loeke Verwijmeren etched her name into the scoresheet for the first time in the Scarlet & Gray, slipping a shot past the goalkeeper's pad side for her first career goal. Rosie Migounoff provided the assist on the milestone score, pushing Newberry's advantage to 4-0.
With less than 10 minutes remaining, Dahmen put the finishing touches on a spectacular afternoon, finding the back of the net for the third time to complete her hat trick. Keeler picked up her third assist of the match on the play, capping off an impressive offensive performance for the Wolves.
Dahmen finished the afternoon with three goals and an assist, while Keeler dished out three assists to help power Newberry's second-half surge. On the other side of the ball, the Wolves' defense was nearly flawless, limiting Wingate to just one shot across all 60 minutes of action.
The shutout victory kept Newberry's perfect conference record intact as the Wolves continued their strong run of form.
Up Next: The Wolves will return to the road on Tuesday, October 20, traveling to face Converse in a conference matchup scheduled for 7 p.m.
