Men's Soccer Hosts 9th-Ranked Coastal Carolina Wednesday Night

10/27/2015 9:37:00 PM

Game Will Be Played In Charlotte (Sports Complex at Marion Diehl Park)

ROCK HILL, SC—The Winthrop men's soccer team will put its unbeaten streak of seven games up against ninth-ranked Coastal Carolina, in a Big South Conference rivalry Wednesday night.

MATCH SNAPSHOT (Notice Change of venue, scheduled start time from original schedule)
Winthrop (7-5-1, 5-0-1 BSC) vs. Coastal Carolina (11-1-1, 5-1 BSC)
Wednesday, Oct. 28 | 7:30 p.m. | Sports Complex at Marion Diehl Park (Charlotte, NC)
Live Stats (uncertain) / Live Video (none with location change)

DIRECTIONS TO SPORTS COMPLEX AT MARION DIEHL PARK
(2229 Tyvola Road, Charlotte, N.C.)

from Queens University of Charlotte
If exiting the Radcliffe lot, turn left on Radcliffe, then right on Selwyn at the light.
If exiting the Clocktower lot, turn right on Radcliffe, then right on Selwyn at the light.
If exiting the Dana / McColl school lots, turn left on Wellesley, then right on Selwyn.
If exiting Burwell Circle, turn right on Selwyn.
Stay on Selwyn for roughly 2 1/4 miles. Selwyn ends abruptly with a sharp right turn to a stoplight; be in the left lane going into this turn.
Turn left at the light onto Park Road.
Make a right at the first light onto Tyvola Road.
The Queens Sports Complex is in Marion Diehl Park at 2229 Tyvola Road (on the right).
Directions to the Queens Sports Complex from I-77

From I-77, take exit 5 (Tyvola Road, East)
Over the next couple of miles on Tyvola, you will cross South Boulevard, Seacroft Road, and Wedgewood Drive.
After Wedgewood, the Queens Sports Complex will be on your left in Marion Diehl Park. There is no left turn, so you will need to pass the park to find a safe place to turn around.
Once you have turned around on Tyvola, the Queens Sports Complex will be on your right at 2229 Tyvola.

FREE T-SHIRTS!!!
Even though the game has been moved to Charlotte, there will still be t-shirt giveaways as the first 100 through the gate will receive a "Beat Coastal" shirt. There will also be other soccer shirt giveaways as well.

LAST MATCH
The Eagles earned a 1-1 draw at High Point to remain unbeaten in the last seven games. The draw did put an end to the team's winning streak at six games, but the Eagles remained in good position to host a quarterfinal game of the Big South Conference Tournament. Winthrop took the lead in the 22^nd minute when Jordan Stoddart headed home a Marco Gatzke delivery. The Panthers tied the game just before the half off a set piece.

NCAA RANKING
Despite just one goal in their last match the Eagles remained in the Top 15 nationally in scoring with 2.08 goals per game (ranked 13^th). Winthrop is ranked 8^th nationally in shots on goal and 11^th in shots per game. As a team the Eagles rank 15^th in points per game and 29^th in total goals. Junior Max Hasenstab ranks 4^th in shots on goal per game, 8^th in shots per game, 11^th in goals per game, 12^th in points per game, 28^th in total goals and 43^rd in total points. Senior Marco Gatzke now has six assists on the year and ranks 25^th nationally in assists per game and 29^th in total assists. Senior defender Jordi Lluch ranks 36^th in goals per game, 41^st in total goals and 56^th nationally in scoring.

WHO TO WATCH
There are a number of players to watch in this matchup as each team features several players having good years. Hasenstab led the Eagles in scoring his first two seasons and is doing so again this year, but in three career games against Coastal Carolina he's not scored. Gatzke has been setting up good scoring chances all season and in the last six games his teammates are converting on the other end more as he's assisted four goals in that span. Lluch has been dangerous getting forward and off set pieces this season. Senior Patrick Barnes has yet to score this season as he's got two assists, but does own a goal against the Chanticleers in his career. Tobenna Uzo is coming off an impressive week with two goals in a 2-1 double overtime win at Longwood and assisted on the game-winning goal against nationally-ranked Hofstra. Uzo is second on the team in scoring with 12 points while Bryce Follensbee leads the way with 14 points (7 goals). Defender Tommy Gudmundsson and goalkeeper Fernando Pina have been key figures for one of the nation's top defensive units.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
This game features the top two winningest coaches in Big South Conference men's soccer history. Rich Posipanko has 271 wins and Coastal Carolina's Shaun Docking has 261 wins while coaching in the Big South. This could be the last time they square off together as Posipanko is stepping down at the end of the season and Coastal Carolina is headed to the Sun Belt Conference, which means Docking won't have a chance to pass Posipanko unless he returns to coach in the Big South some day down the road. Winthrop has remained unbeaten in seven straight games but it hasn't been easy. Of the seven games, four of them have gone into overtime and three of them into double overtime. Over that span the Eagles have outscored opponents 17-7 and recorded three shutouts. Coastal Carolina has been involved in two overtime games this season with both going to double overtime and are 1-0-1. Winthrop is 4-0 in overtime games this season but this matchup hasn't gone into overtime in the last six meetings. The winner of the game will have an advantage to one of the top two seeds for the Big South Conference Tournament. The Chanticleers have three games remaining in league play and face the Eagles, Radford and High Point (all currently in the top 4 of the league standings).

ABOUT OPPONENT
After a brief absence from the Top 10 nationally last week, the Chanticleers are back in the Top 10 with a ranking of 9^th in the latest College Soccer News poll. Coastal has faced four nationally-ranked teams on the season with a 3-0-1 mark in those games and are currently riding a four-game winning streak. The one blemish in the record came in a 3-2 loss at UNC Asheville on Oct. 11. Coastal is tied with Winthrop nationally in scoring at 13^th (2.08) and ranks ninth in goals against average and 12^th in shutout percentage. Pina has been impressive for Coastal in his first season with a 0.60 goals against average and six shutouts. Follensbee leads this balanced offensive attack with seven goals and is one of 10 different players to score and one of seven to score multiple goals. There are seven different players with game-winning goals.

SERIES HISTORY
Coastal Carolina has won three straight over the Eagles, outscoring them 7-2 in those games. Coastal leads the series 25-16-3 and has won six straight regular season meetings. In the last 10 meetings, the team that scored first came out on top seven times.

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