SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Converse College (1-8, 1-4 SAC) field hockey team was handed a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Newberry (4-5, 2-4 SAC) on Sunday afternoon at Spartan High. After a 1-1 draw in the first half, Newberry scored three times in the final 35 minutes to secure the conference win.
Converse put the pressure on Newberry's defense early, tallying several shots on goal, but were unable to put anything into goal. That misfortune took a turn when the Wolves' Mariah Lee took a penalty corner from Megan Eisenhardt and put it past the keeper for a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute.
However, Converse came fighting back and scored the equalizer just over a minute later after Maddie Yocklin hauled in a pass from Marina Montes-Nino and blasted it into the back of the cage.
Newberry looked poised to take the lead once more in the 26th minute of action. Farai Kawonde stole a pass and had a wide open space between her and Ciriaca Petitto. Petitto showed her athleticism, racing out of goal to deny Kawonde the go-ahead score.
The start of the second half was a defensive battle as both teams refused to allow a score. Petitto continued her dominance in goal, kicking away several shot attempts by the Wolves.
Newberry broke through in the 53rd minute. Following a timeout Annie Wolford gathered a pass in front of goal and squeezed it by an outstretched Petitto to give the Wolves a 2-1 advantage. That lead grew to 3-1 just two minutes later when Shannon Springer grabbed a rebound and posted a score. A late goal by Kawonde pushed the final score out to 4-1 in favor of the Wolves.
Flore Samsi led the Valkyries with four shots, while Montes-Nino posted two shots and one assist.
Prior to the contest the Valkyries honored Marina Montes-Nino and Victoria Bailey for their contributions to the Converse College field hockey program.
The Valkyries will make the quick turnaround as they host Molloy in a neutral site game tomorrow afternoon. That contest will be played at Limestone College in Gaffney, S.C. and is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.