SALISBURY, N.C. — The Wolves (2-2) were bested by conference foe Catawba (2-1) in Wednesday night’s 2-1 final.
After a scoreless first half, Catawba led in the shot department 10-1. Newberry goalkeeper Brad Dixon had four saves in the half. Prior to tonight’s match, Dixon was tied for third in all of Division II with an average of 8.67 saves per game.
Catawba scored two quick goals to open the second half. Tobias Iriah tabbed the first goal at the 50th minute on a well-placed strike from the left of the box.
Daniele Proch added the second goal for Catawba in the 54th minute. He beat the Newberry defense and finished from the right side of the box.
The rest of the second half was a bit of a different story for a Newberry team who seemed to have a little bit more urgency fighting for the ball, and some added momentum on the attack.
In the 70th minute, Davis Bryan made a beautiful move with the ball to split two defenders in the box, and found himself right in front of the goal. But a sliding block by a Catawba defender kept the lead at two.
Desperate for a goal, Sterling Wendt found the back of the net with just over three minutes left to play. Wendt scored on a rocket from the top of the box after a failed clear by the Catawba defense.
However, the Wolves would only muster one more chance in the final few minutes, as a shot on a free kick landed right in the lap of Catawba goalkeeper Joe Gonzalez.
Newberry will host Carson-Newman (3-1) Saturday at Smith Road Complex at 3:30 p.m. The Eagles were 9-2 in the SAC last season.