SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Converse University field hockey team made history once again on Friday afternoon as they defeated Newberry 4-1 in the South Atlantic Conference Carolinas Championship semifinals at Fulp Field.
Converse (11-6) advances to the conference championship game for the first time in school history. The Valkyries will face Limestone for the third time this season on Sunday afternoon.
The Valkyries offense got off to a hot start as they outshot Newberry 6-1 in the opening quarter of action. Freshman of the year
Lotte Kanters found
Luisa Fasold for the first goal of the game and the Valkyries never looked back.
In the second quarter
Caroline Blair connected with
Emily Whitlow for the Valkyries second goal of the game. However, Newberry continued to be aggressive on the offensive end and attempted a trio of penalty corners in the second period but the Valkyries backline stood strong. Converse went into the halftime break up 2-0 over Newberry.
Five minutes into the third quarter, Millie Gallagher scored the first goal for Newberry on the afternoon. The Valkyries once again went on the offensive and with no time left in the third quarter they awarded an untimed penalty corner.
Bella Pistilli connected on the corner and the Valkyries took a 3-1 lead going into the fourth period of action.
In the final period of action, the Valkyries kept their foot on the pedal.
Mira Polzer found
Catalina Pistaccio for the Valkyries final goal of the afternoon. Converse finished with 15 shots on goal and 11 shots on target.
Kanters led the Valkyries offensively with a trio of shots and a pair of shots on goal in the afternoon. Pistaccio,
Bo Linders,
Bella Pistilli and Fasold all recorded a pair of shots in the match against the Wolves. Defensive Player of the Year
Ciriaca Petitto made a pair saves in the win over Newberry.
Next Up:
The Valkyries will face Limestone this Sunday afternoon at Fulp Field for the South Atlantic Conference Carolinas Championship. The game will start at 2:00 p.m.
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