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ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop women's soccer team will once again try to get its 2012 regular season started on Sunday afternoon with a 2 p.m. match against the Catamounts of Western Carolina at Eagle Field after last Sunday's scheduled game against The Citadel was postponed.
The Lady Eagles enter their third season under head coach
Spencer Smith who has led the program to back-to-back Big South Co-Regular Season Championships. Winthrop finished last season 12-7-1, the second-best mark in program history, while the Catamounts went 9-10-1 overall and finished eighth in the Southern Conference going 4-7 under head coach Chad Miller.
Western Carolina holds a 2-0 all-time series lead over Winthrop, including a 4-0 win last year in Cullowhee. The only other meeting with the Catamounts was during the 2007 season which saw the Eagles fall 2-0 at WCU. This will be the first time the two programs will meet in Rock Hill.
The Lady Eagles return 21 letter winners and nine starters from last year's squad which includes the leading scorer in sophomore forward
Krystyna Freda. Freda, the Big South Preseason Attacking Player of the Year, ranked 22
nd nationally in points per game, 10
th in goals per game, 14
th in goals, 28
th in points and eighth in game-winning goals, while topping the conference in shots per game, points, points per game, goals, goals per game and game-winning goals. She also set new school records during the 2011 campaign including points, points per game, goals, goals per game, game-winning goals and shots attempted. Freda was named the Big South Freshman of the Year and NSCAA Third Team All-Southeast Region. Senior goalkeeper
Sarah Schippers also returns in net after starting in 19 games last season, and allowed 25 goals for a 1.37 GAA and snagged a career-high 103 saves with a .805 save percentage.
Western Carolina enters the weekend with an 0-1 record after losing 2-1 at 20
th ranked West Virginia to open their season. The Catamounts will face Charlotte on Friday before heading to Rock Hill for their Sunday matchup with the Lady Eagles. Freshman Markie Studnicky has Western Carolina's lone goal on the young season while six different players are tied for the team lead in shots. Senior goalkeeper Katie Jacobs recorded eight saves in the season opener for the Catamounts.
The Lady Eagles will next be in action on Wednesday, August 29 when they head to Orangeburg, SC to take on the Bulldogs of South Carolina State at 7 p.m.
