CHESTER, Pa. (Sept. 1, 2016) – Junior Eliza Newlin (Lewisburg, Pa.) and freshman Sam Scoma (Blue Bell, Pa.) each factored into a pair of goals to help propel the Widener University field hockey team to a 3-1 victory over Swarthmore in the season opener for both schools on Thursday evening at Edith R. Dixon Field.
 
Widener (1-0) seized control early by scoring twice in the opening minutes of play and never looked back. Newlin put the Pride on the board in the seventh minute by finishing a cross from Scoma, and then Scoma doubled the lead just 1:41 later by potting a rebound off an initial shot taken by Newlin that was saved by Zelda Bank.
 
Swarthmore (0-1) had an answer and sliced the deficit in half when Sierra Spencer scored through a scrum of players from both sides in the 14th, but the Pride recovered and did not allow the visitors to find the back of the cage the rest of the way. Junior Kayla Herr (Lancaster, Pa.) later rocketed a shot past Bank off a corner taken by Newlin in the 57th minute for an insurance tally to produce the final outcome.
 
Senior Mikayla Ninos (Northampton, Pa.) got the win between the pipes for Widener by making two saves, while Swarthmore's Bank suffered the loss after turning away six shots.
 
Widener resumes action when it visits Immaculata on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 1:30 p.m.