Field Hockey Defeats Converse in Dominant Fashion

HARTSVILLE, S.C. - The Coker College field hockey team wrapped up their final home regular season match of the year in dominant fashion, defeating the Converse College Valkyries 5-0 Saturday (Nov. 3) afternoon in South Atlantic Conference Carolinas action. Coker improved to 5-5 overall and 4-4 in the conference with today's victory.

It took the Cobras just five minutes to tally their first goal as Victoria Watts dodged her way to the cage and beat the Valkyrie goalkeeper for the 1-0 advantage. Next, Carla Deuble recorded her first of two goals on the afternoon in the 13th minute of the first half. Alyssa Baronella-O'Toole and Kaleigh Cordrey were credited with the double-assist.

Coker continued to control the pace of play for the remainder of the first half and tacked on another goal in the 23rd minute with an unassisted score from Dueble, extending the Cobras lead to 3-0 over the Valkyries.

The second half started in similar fashion as the first with Coker tacking on a goal within the first five minutes of action. Cordrey jumped in on the scoring frenzy as she buried her shot in the back of the cage in the 40th minute. Leading 4-0, the Navy and Gold continued to apply pressure to the Converse defense and tacked on their fifth and final goal in the 58th minute off an unassisted score from Emily Saulino.

Deuble led the Cobras offensively with a team-high two goals, while Watts, Cordrey, and Saulino all added one score each. Kelly Mason paced Coker in shots recording a team-high eight. As a team, the Cobras dominated the stat sheet, besting Converse in shots 28-5 and penalty corners 5-2. Coker's 28 shots is their best mark so far during the 2018 campaign.

The Cobras are sitting in prime position to advance to the conference tournament with two games remaining, as they are currently third in the South Atlantic Conference Carolinas standings. The top four teams will advance to the conference tournament at the conclusion of the regular season. Coker will be back in action on Wednesday (Nov. 7) when they travel to Limestone to take on the No. 10 Saints in conference action. The match is set to begin at 7 PM.

McDonald's Player of the Game - Carla Deuble