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ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop scored three first half goals and ended up with a 4-2 victory over East Tennessee State, Tuesday evening in non-conference men's soccer action at Eagle Field.
The win is the third straight for the Eagles, who wrap-up non-conference play with a 6-2 mark. They will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 2 p.m. on Eagle Field when the Eagles host Liberty in their Big South opener. The loss drops ETSU, ranked ninth in the NSCAA/Continental Tire South Region, to 4-3 on the year as its win streak ends at two games.
"I am very pleased with tonight's effort and win over a very good ETSU team," said Winthrop head coach
Rich Posipanko. "I am not sure we saw their best tonight, but I also think we had something to do with it. I'm ver proud of the boys tonight."
Goals came early for both teams, but it was the Eagles that continued to find the back of the net. Junior
Magnus Thorsson led the way with two goals, including the eventual game-winner in the 32
nd minute as he now has four goals on the year. The Eagles were awarded a free kick about 40 yards out from goal when Thorsson curled the ball into the middle of the 18-yard box. The ball landed in front of goalkeeper
Daniel Adelman but he froze as
Max Hasenstab ran in front looking as if he may touch it but it slipped by both and bounced into the net. That goal made it 3-1 in favor of the Eagles where the score stood at the half.
Winthrop added a fourth goal in the 54
th minute when Hasenstab scored his second of the season. The Eagles had a free kick on their half as
Jordi Lluch played it to the feet of
Patrick Barnes who knocked a ball over the top of the defense first touch. Hasenstab was free headed to goal and he slipped the ball into the back of the net on the ground past Adelman.
Thorsson opened up the scoring in the 5
th minute when Hasenstab ripped a shot that was blocked right to the feet of Thorsson and he took one touch before burying a shot inside the box to the lower left corner. Less than a minute later the Buccaneers tied the match when Joao Ramalho dribbled his way to the middle of the field and blasted a shot to the top right corner from about 25 yards.
The Eagles continued to apply pressure and it paid off when they were awarded a penalty kick in the 17
th minute. Senior
Pol Sole stepped up and scored for his third of the season.
ETSU cut the lead in half at the 83
rd minute when it was awarded a penalty kick as William Nordenstrom stepped up and converted.
The Eagles finished with a slight edge in shots at 12-11 and the Buccaneers had a 6-3 advantage in corners.
Hector Fernandez finished with four saves to improve to 3-0 on the year while Adelman made four saves and is now 4-3.
Winthrop, which entered the game as the 12
th-ranked scoring offense in the country, now has 14 goals over the last three games. The last time an Eagle team scored that many in a three-game span was when the 2005 team also scored 14.
