Box Score Box Score
BIRMINGHAM, AL – The Winthrop women's soccer team wrapped up its six-game road trip with a 1-0 loss to the Samford Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon at Bulldog Field.
The Lady Eagles fall to 2-4-1 on the season, while the Bulldogs improve to 5-0-1 overall.
“We did some good things today in the second half,” said head coach Melissa Heinz. “We took away from this game that we can play with the best.”
Samford took a 1-0 lead over Winthrop in the 37th minute courtesy of a goal by Kelly Shaffer with the assist coming from Mary Shelton Bryant. Shaffer received the pass from Bryant on the Lady Eagle side of the field and put her shot into the bottom-left corner of the net past redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Kelsy Weavil from 12 yards out.
The Bulldogs finished the first half holding a 7-1 advantage in shots, while both teams had one corner kick apiece.
Weavil had one save in the first 45 minutes and Samford goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead also one save.
Both teams were held scoreless in the second half as the Winthrop defense held the Bulldogs scoreless in the second stanza while holding them to only three shots. The Lady Eagles also had three shots.
“Our defense (Katie Perkinson, Stevie Lucas, Courtney Durbin and Kathryn Leach) played outstanding today,” said Heinz. “They worked hard to defend and help out in the back.”
Freshman Allie VandeWater finished the match with a team-high two shots and one shot on-goal. Freshmen Lia Gordon and Sydney Ransom had one shot apiece, while Gordon had the other shot on-target for Winthrop. Weavil finished the contest with four saves.
Leah Leppert led Samford with three shots on the afternoon, and was one of five players who had a shot on-goal. Whitehead had a total of two saves.
Samford concluded the match with a total of 10 shots, with the Lady Eagles taking four shots. The Bulldogs would hold a 3-0 mark in corner kicks in the second half and finished with a total of four.
“We are ready to be home,” Heinz added. “We have two more games left that are non-conference and we need to finish strong with those games to get ready for conference play.”
Winthrop will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 25 as it hosts the Francis Marion Patriots at Eagle Field at 7 p.m.
