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Winthrop vs. Liberty Slideshow
CHARLESTON, SC – The eighth-seeded Winthrop Lady Eagles battled the top-seeded Liberty Flames through 110 minutes on Thursday afternoon at Blackbaud Stadium, and came away with a 5-4 win on penalty kicks to advance to the semifinals of the 2009 Big South Conference Women's Soccer Tournament.
The Lady Eagles are now 5-10-4 on the season, while the Flames conclude their season with an overall record of 9-7-3.
“I'm ecstatic,” said head coach Melissa Heinz. “I'm somewhat emotional for the fact the team just played with every ounce of their heart, mind and bodies. That's what we had to have today.”
Winthrop had the best scoring opportunity of the first half during the 27th minute after Lia Gordon broke free from the Liberty defense for a one-on-one chance against goalkeeper Ashley Nyholt. Gordon's shot hit the top crossbar, bounced straight down and was cleared out by Nyholt.
The Flames had a similar chance in the 58th after Aimee Luurtsema received a cross inside the 18 yard box, but her shot sailed high of the net.
The Lady Eagles tried to respond in the 59th minute, but Allie VandeWater's initial shot was blocked from nine yards out, and Kylie Long's follow-up shot went high.
Winthrop got on the board first in the penalty kick round courtesy of Courtney Durbin. Silvia Betancourt answered back for Liberty to make it 1-1. Stevie Lucas and Lindsay Taylor made it 3-1 in favor of the Lady Eagles with their back-to-back goals, but the Flames would rally with consecutive goals of their own to tie the game at 3-3. Both teams traded goals in the eighth round of kicks, but the difference-maker came when Long put Winthrop in front 5-4. Jordan Woody attempted to extend the game further, but goalkeeper Sarah Schippers, who entered the game in place of Kelsy Weavil for the penalty kicks, made a diving save to give the Lady Eagles the hard-fought victory.
“Liberty is a phenomenal team,” Heinz added. “We had to come out and give our best. It had to be our best the whole time.”
The victory gives Winthrop its second win all-time in the Big South Tournament. Its last victory came against the Flames at Blackbaud Stadium 3-2 in double overtime during the 2007 season.
The Lady Eagles outshot Liberty 19-15 and also held a 5-4 advantage in shots on-goal. The Flames led in corner kicks 4-3.
Allie VandeWater led Winthrop in total shots with five, and also had a team-high two shots on-goal. Weavil finished the match with four saves.
Madison Short took a team-best six shots for Liberty, while Luurtsema had two shots on-target.
“I'm excited about tomorrow,” said Heinz. “If we bring this energy and work ethic, we'll find ourselves playing on Sunday.”
The Lady Eagles will play fifth-seeded VMI, who also beat fourth-ranked Coastal Carolina in penalty kicks, at 4:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon at Blackbaud Stadium. The Keydets defeated Winthrop 1-0 in Lexington, VA on Oct. 18.
