Coker Men's Soccer Falls to Newberry 2-1

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker University men's soccer team came up short to the Newberry College Wolves on Wednesday (Oct. 16) by a score of 2-1.

It was a competitive first half of play as both teams were able to create scoring opportunities. The Cobras had seven total shot attempts compared to six for the Wolves. In the 32nd minute, Ethan Flynn set up Liam Marolany for the goal to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

However, momentum switched early in the second half as Newberry's Eric Brody was given his second yellow card, resulting in a red card and forcing the Wolves to play a man down for the remainder of the match.

Despite playing a man down, the Wolves kept their composure and continued to control the match. In the 61^st minute, Troy Paul took possession around midfield, caught goalkeeper Guilermo Falo Ejea off his line, and fired a shot over Falo Ejea's head and into the back of the net to give the Wolves a 2-0 advantage.

The Cobras came firing back in the 72^nd minute when Riccardo Ricci's shot was deflected, resulting in a handball and a penalty kick for Coker. Christian Provenzano took the penalty and notched his 10^th goal of the season, firing a shot to the right corner of the net past goalkeeper Leroy Zeller. Newberry's back line held strong for the remainder of the match, as the Wolves went on to win by a score of 2-1.

Christian Provenzano was named the McDonald's Player of the Game for his penalty kick in the second half.

"It was a tough loss for our team today," said coach Michael Antoniewicz. "We have to regroup and prepare to bounce back on Saturday."

The Cobras will be back in action on Saturday (Oct. 19) when they travel to Charlotte, N.C. to take on the Queens University Royals. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.