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ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop will put its winning streak of three games on the line when it hosts nationally-ranked High Point Saturday night, in Big South Conference men's soccer action. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Winthrop (5-4) has won three straight games, including a 3-1 victory at UNC Asheville last Saturday in the team's league opener. The task of extending the unbeaten streak will be tough as the Eagles face High Point, who is not only undefeated but ranked in the Top 25 in three national polls this week.

After being shutout 3-0 by Virginia Commonwealth, Winthrop has scored at least two goals in the five games since for an average of 2.4 and is 3-2 in that stretch. On the flip side the Eagles defense has allowed nearly the same amount of goals per game at 2.2 (just one in each of the last two games).

The Eagles took a hit in the injury department last weekend as two starters were forced to leave the game early and two other starters were injured leading up to the game. It's unknown if the players will be healthy to face the Panthers. Junior Adam Brundle, who missed the UNC Asheville game for yellow card accumulation will return to action. On the season Brundle has been a key figure in the midfield and has two goals and an assist.

Senior Alex Isern has been outstanding in creating scoring chances for the Eagles as he is leading the team in points with 11 (3 goals, 5 assists). In the last two games he's scored a goal and assisted on another in each, which helped earn him Big South Conference Attacking Player of the Week honors. He has at least one point in each of the last four games. His five assists rank third in the league and he's 12^th nationally in assists per game at .63.

Junior Achille Obougou has gotten into the flow offensively as he's coming off a game in which he had two goals and set up the first goal of the match by Isern. Junior Mason Lavallet, who is second on the team with four goals, picked up his second assist of the season. After picking up a point in three straight matches, Lavallet was held without a point the previous two games prior to Saturday. Senior Marc Segarra still leads the team with five goals in just 131 minutes of action.
In goal for the Eagles will be Tom Banfield, who has allowed just a goal per game in the last two. He's 5-4 on the year with a 2.14 goals against average and is making 4.4 saves per game.

The Panthers (9-0-1) are ranked as high as 23^rd (NSCAA/Continental Tire), 24^th by CollegeSoccerNews.com and 25^th by Soccer America. They are also 29^th by Soccertimes.

High Point features the nation's second best offense at 3.22 goals per game led by sophomore forward Mamadee Nyepon, who is sixth in the nation in goals per game (.89) and 10^th in scoring at 1.89 points per game. Senior midfielder Shawn Sloan is 24^th nationally in scoring at 1.67 points per game and leads the country in assists (9) and assists per game (1.0). Senior midfielder Shane Malcolm is also ranked among the national leaders at 37^th in scoring (1.56).

It's not just the offense that's been impressive on the season as the defense is also ranked in the Top 5 nationally allowing just .44 goals per game. The Panthers have allowed just four goals on the year, two of which came in the first game of the year (a 4-2 win at Elon).

The Panthers are coming off a 0-0 tie at home against Virginia Military Institute and were shutout for the first time all season on Wednseday. It was also the fourth straight shutout by the Panthers. High Point enters having not allowed a goal in four straight games and a total of 452 minutes and 16 seconds.
Red-shirt freshman Kody Palmer is having an impressive season in the net allowing .40 goals per game and recording seven shutouts. He is ranked 4^th nationally in goals against average.

Winthrop leads the all-time series 14-4-1, but lost the last meeting 6-0 at High Point in 2011 in the team's league opener.

EAGLE NOTES:
-High Point has won three of the last four meetings after Winthrop won eight straight meetings
-High Point has seven shutouts on the year while Winthrop has not recorded one
-The two schools first played in 1983 in Rock Hill, SC with the Eagles winning 2-0
-The first ever league match between Winthrop/High Point came in 1999 with the Eagles falling 2-1 on the road
-Alex Isern is the second player to be named Big South Attacking Player of the Week this season as Marc Segarra also garnered the award
-Isern has an assist in the last four games
-Winthrop's Spanish trio of Segarra, Isern and Obougou have combined to score eight of Winthrop's last nine goals
-Winthrop's last game against a nationally-ranked opponent came on Sept. 9, 2012 as the Eagles fell 3-2 at #6 Old Dominion