EMORY, Va. – The Newberry College men's soccer team hit the road Saturday evening for a South Atlantic Conference matchup against Emory & Henry, but an early offensive surge by the Wasps proved too much to overcome as the Wolves fell 4-0 at Food City Sports Complex.
Emory & Henry wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, striking just over three minutes into the contest. Jorge Garcia found the back of the net off assists from Adel Kessas and Sergio Lopez to give the Wasps an early 1-0 advantage.
The home team continued to apply pressure, doubling its lead in the 21st minute when Michael Nduka netted his fourth goal of the season to make it 2-0.
Newberry looked to respond immediately, generating a pair of quality scoring opportunities. Brendon Excellent fired a shot on goal in the 22nd minute, but Emory & Henry goalkeeper Baptise Berthozat was there to make the save. Just four minutes later, Ben Curtis tested the Wasps' defense with an attempt toward the bottom-right corner, but Berthozat once again turned the shot away.
The Wolves continued searching for an opening, with Tomás Queirós and Seraphin Guetan each recording shot attempts before halftime. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Charlie Clark made a pair of first-half saves to keep Newberry within striking distance as the teams headed into the break with Emory & Henry leading 2-0.
Newberry opened the second half looking to cut into the deficit, with Giuseppe Gereau registering a shot attempt less than two minutes after the restart. However, the Wasps continued to control possession and generate offensive opportunities, forcing the Wolves' defense to withstand consistent pressure.
Clark and the Newberry defense battled throughout the second half, but Emory & Henry eventually broke through again in the 75th minute when Adrian Colon scored to extend the advantage to 3-0.
Less than five minutes later, Matheus De Araujo Pinto added another goal for the Wasps, pushing the lead to 4-0 with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Despite continuing to battle until the final whistle, Newberry was unable to find the back of the net as Emory & Henry secured the conference victory.
The Wasps finished with a 26-7 advantage in total shots, including a 13-2 edge in shots on goal. Newberry's two shots on target came from Curtis and Excellent, while Maximiliano Bogado led the Wolves with two total shot attempts.
Defensively, Clark played all 90 minutes in goal as the Wolves recorded nine team saves on the evening. Emory & Henry also held an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks, while both teams committed 10 fouls.
With the loss, Newberry falls to 1-8-2 overall and 1-5-1 in South Atlantic Conference play, while Emory & Henry improves to 7-1-5 overall and 6-0-2 in conference action.
