MOUNT OLIVE (Sept. 28) – Behind four different goal scorers on Saturday afternoon, the No. 9 Trojans registered a nationally-ranked victory over No. 7 Newberry by a 4-1 margin in South Atlantic Conference (SAC) play at Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive field hockey team improves to 5-3 overall behind a 4-2 record in league play. The Trojans have registered five straight victories over the Wolves dating back to 2022, scoring four goals in three meetings. Meanwhile, Newberry suffered its first loss of the season, falling to 6-1 this season with a 3-1 mark in conference action.
Mount Olive recorded the first shot of the contest before the Wolves answered with back-to-back attempts in an evenly-matched opening quarter. At the 12:51 mark, freshman
Kaat Koper registered the first goal after deflecting a shot into the cage off an initial shot from senior
Amber Dercksen, 1-0. In the second quarter, freshman
Nakai Mujaranji produced her first goal of the year after redirecting a shot from senior
Annefleur Moerkerken at the 20:13 mark to extend the lead to 2-0. Newberry totaled four shots and two penalty corners in the final six minutes, but graduate student goalkeeper
Alanna Barrett collected three saves to maintain the shutout at the break.
The Trojans quickly added to their lead in the initial 50 seconds of the third quarter, as senior
Jule Schuurman fired a shot into the back of the cage off a penalty corner with Dercksen recording her second assist. Just over a minute later, Mount Olive stretched the advantage to 4-0 after sophomore
Rosie Migounoff started a breakaway in the offensive zone before teammate
Jemimah Kriechelberg scored at the far post at the 31:53 mark. The Wolves would avoid the shutout in the final seconds of the fourth with a goal by Payton Keeler. 4-1.
Barrett earned the win as goalkeeper after collecting three saves on nine shots faced in 60 minutes of play.
The Trojans finished with an 11-9 edge in shots while the Wolves held a 6-5 advantage in penalty corners.
Mount Olive continues its homestand on Wednesday, Oct. 2, with a matchup against Belmont Abbey at 4 p.m.
