CLICK HERE FOR CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
ROCK HILL, SC—The Winthrop men's soccer team is the two-time defending Big South Conference Champion, but if the team is going to defend its title this year it will have to win it as the sixth seed.
Winthrop finished in a tie for sixth place in the league standings with VMI with a 3-5 record, but earned the sixth seed with the tie breaker. The Eagles defeated the Keydets during the regular season, 6-3.
The Eagles will face third-seeded Gardner-Webb on Thursday, Nov. 11 in the opening game of the Big South Tournament. The tournament is being held at High Point University and kick-off is set for noon.
Winthrop (5-11-1) just played the Runnin' Bulldogs a few weeks ago and held on for a 2-1 win at home. These two teams squared off in the first round of the 2009 tournament. The game ended in a 2-2 tie through regulation and overtime. Winthrop advanced to the semi-finals with a 4-3 win in penalties.
It is the lowest seed for the men's soccer team since the 1992 season. That season the Eagles were the sixth seed and lost 2-0 to Towson in the first game of the tourney. The team didn't qualify for the tournament in 1995 and 1996.
The series history heavily favors the Eagles, but Gardner-Webb (7-10) is coming off a 4-1 victory over Radford and looking to avenge its 2-1 loss to Winthrop on Oct. 28. Winthrop is 11-1-2 against the Runnin' Bulldogs all-time.
The first round has been good to the Eagles in recent years having won five straight. The last first round loss came in 2004 when Winthrop was the third seed and was knocked off by UNC Asheville. In the last four conference championships, the sixth seed has won the opening game twice.
All seven games of the Big South Men's Soccer Championship will air live on the Big South Network. The Big South's Tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. The Conference Championship schedule is as follows:
Thursday, Nov. 11
Game 1: No. 3 Gardner-Webb vs. No. 6 Winthrop, 12:00pm ET
Game 2: No. 2 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 7 VMI, 2:30pm ET
Game 3: No. 4 Liberty vs. No. 5 Radford, 5:00pm ET
Game 4: No. 1 High Point vs. No. 8 UNC Asheville, 7:30pm ET
Friday, Nov. 12
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner (Semifinals), 4:00pm ET
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner (Semifinals), 7:00pm ET
Sunday, Nov. 14
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner (Championship), 2:00pm ET
