ROCK HILL, SC—The Winthrop men's soccer team will host UNC Asheville for "Senior Night" and its final regular season game of the season, Wednesday evening at Eagle Field with kickoff set for 6 p.m.
Winthrop is coming off an important 1-0 victory at home over Radford last Saturday and is 10-6-1 on the season and 4-5 in the Big South. A victory against the Bulldogs would ensure a spot in the Big South Conference Championship in two weeks. However, a loss could possibly keep the Eagles out of the tournament and end their hopes of a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Saturday's victory over Radford was a monumental one for the Winthrop program as it marked the team's 400
th victory all-time in 39 seasons. It also marked the 250
th time head coach
Rich Posipanko had led a Winthrop team to a victory. His record at Winthrop is now 250-209-34 in his 25 years at the school and his overall record is 367-258-56 and he ranks 8
th in wins among active coaches at the NCAA Division I level.
Winthrop has been battling through key injuries for the past 3-4 weeks and has been slowly getting some of the starters back in the line-up and a win against Asheville would not only put Winthrop in the tournament but it would allow for the team to get healthier. After Wednesday's game, Winthrop would have the following five days without a game as many of the league teams finish play this Saturday.
Freshman
Max Hasenstab had missed three games before coming off the bench and returning to the field against Radford on Saturday and he made his presence felt immediately. Hasenstab lifted the play offensively for the Eagles and eventually found the back of the net for the only goal of the game and his eighth on the season. He now leads the team with 21 points (8g, 5a) while senior
Achille Obougou is second with 20 points (9g, 2a).
Senior
Mason Lavallet returned to action for 19 minutes against Radford and could see more time against the Bulldogs. Sophomore
Kyle Kennedy also returned and played 82 minutes off the bench and seems to be back in form. There is a good chance when the Eagles take the field on Wednesday they are as healthy as they've been in about a month.
Perhaps one of the biggest returns to the lineup was junior goalkeeper
Guilherme Avelar, who had been out of action since the first half at High Point and returned to make eight saves and preserve the team's sixth shutout of the season. Winthrop had a combined seven total shutouts in 2011 and 2012.
UNC Asheville is coming off quite possibly its biggest win in the program's history as it knocked off sixth-ranked Coastal Carolina 1-0 to celebrate its senior day. The Bulldogs enter Wednesday's game with a 5-12 overall mark and 2-6 in the league.
The Bulldogs are still mathematically alive for the Big South Tournament as they could get in with victories in their last two games (at Winthrop, at Radford). The victory over Coastal Carolina was just the start they needed to get the ball rolling heading into the final three games.
Leading the way offensively for Asheville is senior Bobby Castro (3g, 1a) and sophomore Emil Gonsalvez (3 goals). Junior Quentin Reynolds is tied for second on the team in scoring with two goals and two assists. All three of Gosalvez's goals on the year are game-winners.
Asheville had lost five straight, including two double-overtime losses, before knocking off the Chanticleers.
Junior Dan Jackson has posted a 5-8 record with a 1.84 goals against average but has been splitting time the last three games with redshirt sophomore Zak Davis, who has an 0-3 mark and a 1.82 goals against average in five games (four starts).
The series between Winthrop and Asheville goes all the way back to the first game Winthrop ever played on Sept. 24, 1976. The Bulldogs hammered the Eagles 7-0 that day and the two teams have been squaring off ever since. Winthrop leads the all-time series 23-11-2 overall and 18-8-1 in league matchups. However, It's been the Bulldogs that have owned the series recently having won three of the previous five meetings and shutting out the Eagles in all three of those wins. In last year's meeting, Winthrop received a two-goal effort to open league play with a 3-1 victory over the Bulldogs.
Winthrop seniors
Adriano Negri,
Mason Lavallet,
Achille Obougou and
Adam Brundle will be recognized prior to kickoff as part of the "Senior Day" festivities.
Senior's Highlights (Click On Picture Or Name For Full Bio)
|
|
Adriano Negri, a midfielder out of Vancouver, British Columbia. Negri transferred to Winthrop from Monroe Community College and has been a key component since his arrival. This season he was named College Sports Madness Big South Player of the Week and to the Big South/SOCON Challenge All-Tournament Team when he netted two second half goals to lead Winthrop to a 2-1 win in the season opener at Georgia Southern. He also assisted on the game-winning goal against Presbyterian. Negri started the match at SMU in which the Eagles advanced to the Round of 32 in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. He was recently named to the Capital One Academic All-America District 4 Team. Negri will graduate with a degree in history. |
|
|
Mason Lavallet, a midfielder from Birmingham, AL. Lavallet has battled threw some injuries this season and is tied for fourth on the team in scoring at three goals and two assists. He assisted on the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win at High Point this season. In 2012, he netted one of the biggest goals in school history when he scored the game-winning goal with a minute and 10 seconds to play in the game to help Winthrop to its first ever victory over a top 10 team (Coastal Carolina was ranked 8th). The goal also lifted to the Eagles to their 5th NCAA Tournament Appearance. He also scored the golden goal in the opening round of the tournament for a win at Liberty. Lavallet has 11 goals and five assists in his career. He will graduate with a degree in economics. |
|
|
Achille Obougou, a forward from Barcelona, Spain. Obougou has spent two seasons with the Eagles and has 16 goals in 35 games played. He is currently 40th in the nation in scoring and has five goals in the last seven games. In his career he has four multiple-goal games and recently had a four-game streak of at least one goal. Perhaps his biggest goal as an Eagle career came with two minutes and 10 seconds left in regulation when he tied the game at 1-1 at SMU and Winthrop went on to advance in penalties. He was recent named to the Capital One Academic All-America District 4 Team. Obougou will graduate with a degree in Biology. |
|
|
Adam Brundle from London, England. He has enjoyed a solid three-year career with the Eagles after transferring from Delta State. This season he assisted on two of the first three goals the team scored this season. One of his shining moments at Winthrop came in the 2012 Big South Conference Championship game against Coastal Carolina when he dribbled through five players to set up the game-tying goal with three minutes left in the game. In 2012, Brundle assisted on the game-winning goal in overtime to defeat Wofford College 2-1. In his collegiate career he has 11 goals and nine assists as a central midfielder. Brundle will graduate with a degree in sport management. |
