ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop men's soccer will celebrate "Senior Day" on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. when it hosts High Point in a key Big South Conference men's soccer matchup.
Winthrop will be honoring its senior class that includes seven players, that includes three that were part of the 2012 team that advanced to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament. The seven seniors that will be recognized prior to kickoff are Guihlerme Avelar,
Jon Simic,
Nick Nova,
Josh Choice,
Cody Winter,
Sean Comer and
Pol Sole.
The Eagles are unbeaten in eight games, the second longest unbeaten streak in the program's history. Winthrop captured its 10
th win on Wednesday as it is now 10-2-1 on the year and 4-0-1 in the league. It is the third straight season with 10 or more wins and the seventh time in the last nine seasons.
Offensively the Eagles enter the game ranked second nationally with 2.55 goals per game and they are coming off a three-goal performance in the second half to defeat Gardner-Webb 3-1 at home. Just like the majority of the season, the offense was provided by a variety of players. Freshman
Charles Coulson scored the tying goal and now has three on the year. Junior
Patrick Barnes netted the game-winning goal while sophomore
Max Hasenstab scored his team-best sixth goal.
Hasenstab has the lead in goals but Sole leads the team in points with five goals and five assists and is riding a seven-game point streak. Junior
Magnus Thorsson has five goals and one assist on the year while junior
Jordan Stoddart has four goals and one assist. There are seven players on the team with at least two goals and a total of 12 different players have scored this season.
Avelar continues to mind the net as he's now 5-1-1 on the year and 4-0-1 since returning from injury. He's allowed just four goals in the last five games.
Extending the team's unbeaten streak will be a tough task on Saturday as the Eagles face a very talented High Point squad that ranks 14
th in the country in goals per game.
The Panthers are 6-6-1 on the year against a competitive schedule and are fourth in the league with nine points at 3-1.
High Point features one of the most talented forwards in the country as Mamadee Nyepon leads the league in scoring and has a league-best nine goals. Nyepon currently ranks fourth nationally in goals per game and seventh in points per game.
While Nyepon is the leading goal scorer on the team, he's not the only one as Avery Ryan has five on the year while Renato Punyed has three. The Panthers have also had 12 different goal scorers on the season. Ebe Kudolo leads the league in assists with six and that ranks 15
th nationally. The last time High Point came to Winthrop, Nyepon scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory for the Panthers.
Kody Palmer is one of the best goalkeepers in the league as the 2012 Big South Freshman of the Year and Freshmen All-America selection is fourth in the league with a 1.21 goals against average. Palmer is 3-4-1 this season and in his career is 1-1 against Winthrop in his career.
This will be the 22
nd meeting all-time between the Eagles and Panthers. The all-time series favors Winthrop with a 15-5-1 mark, but recently it has been the Panthers claiming victory. Winthrop won last year's meeting 1-0 but the Panthers have won three of the last four meetings and four of the last six which includes the last three at Eagle Field.
WINTHROP SENIORS| Guilherme Avelar- Transferred to the Eagles prior to the start of the 2013 season from Peninsula Junior College. He was a starter immediately in goal and earned Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors three times. He is the only player in school history to receive conference player of the week honors three times in a season. He was named to the 2013 Big South/SoCON Challenge All-Tournament Team. In 2013 he missed a couple of games with an injury but finished with a 9-3-1 mark and four shutouts in 15 starts. This season he's also battled injuries but is 5-1-1 on the year with two shutouts in league play. He now has four shutouts in his career against Big South competition. This year he was named the Big South Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 29 after returning from injury and posting a shutout in a 2-0 win over Liberty in the conference opener. He is just the second player in school history to earn weekly honors from the Big South four times in a career. His 1.02 goals against average in 2013 ranks 9th best in a single-season in Winthrop history. Avelar will make his 24th appearance today and 22nd start. He will graduate with a degree in marketing. |
| Josh Choice- He will make his 40th appearance today and 18th career start. Choice has played in four games, including all 90 minutes in the Eagles 3-1 win over Gardner-Webb this past Wednesday. He's battled injuries the last three seasons after playing in 23 games his first two years. Scored his first collegiate goal in the Eagles 5-2 win over Stetson in 2013 and then picked up two assists in the team's 5-0 win over Brevard College the same season. He will graduate with a degree in exercise science. |
| Sean Comer- Today will mark his 45th appearance and sixth career start as he's tallied five goals and three assists in his career. He made his first appearance on Sept. 25, 2011 at Wake Forest with 17 minutes. He made his first start that same season on Oct. 5 at Appalachian State. He's likely on a short list in the program's history for players to play all positions on the field over the course of his career. He completed that task this season by seeing 11 minutes and 12 seconds in goal against Brevard College. In 2013 he enjoyed his best offensive season with two goals and two assists. In 2012 he scored the game-winning goal in the 79th minute at VMI. He also appeared in both of the team's NCAA Tournament games in 2012. This season Comer has one goal and one assist as he scored the fifth goal in the win over USC Upstate. He will graduate with a degree in athletic training. |
| Nick Nova- Came to Winthrop in 2010 and redshirted in 2012. Made his first appearance on Sept. 3, 2010 vs. Brevard College and made his first career start on Aug. 26, 2011 vs. Brevard. Recorded his first career point on Sept. 19, 2013 vs. Brevard with an assist. He then scored his first career goal this season in a 5-0 win over Brevard. He will make his third career start vs. High Point and 20th career appearance. He will graduate with a degree in finance and economics. |
| Jon Simic- Transferred from Paradise Valley Community College prior to the start of the 2013 season. Made his first start for the Eagles on Oct. 8, 2013 after he battled injuries to start the season. Made 11 appearances with seven starts in 2013 and picked up his only assist in a 4-0 win over Presbyterian College. He will graduate with a degree in sport management. |
Pol Sole- Came to the Eagles prior to the start of the 2013 season and has been an offensive impact since. He battled injuries for the first half of the 2013 season but finished the year with two goals and two assists in 11 games (eight starts). This season he leads the team in points with five goals and five assists. He has two game-winning goals and has assisted on the game-winner against Liberty. Sole was named the MVP of the UNCW Courtyard Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach Classic earlier this season. He will make his 25th appearance today and 22nd career start. He currently has a point streak of seven games. He will graduate with a degree in psychology. |
Cody Winter- Transferred from Monroe Community College prior to the start of the 2013 and inserted himself into the starting lineup immediately. He played outside back for most of the 2013 season before switching to a midfield and forward role in 2014. He made his first start for the Eagles in the 2013 opener at Georgia Southern and finished with 16 starts in 17 games played. He picked up his first collegiate point with an assist in a 4-0 win over Presbyterian College. This season he's been a solid contributor in the attack as he has three assists in 13 games played and 11 starts. He assisted on the game-winning goal against Wofford College in the season opener and on the third goal in a 5-3 win over USC Upstate. Today will be his 29th start in two season with the Eagles and 31st appearance. He will graduate with a degree in business.
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