Box Score Rock Hill, SC—The Winthrop Lady Eagles' soccer squad clinched a Big South Conference berth with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Presbyterian College Tuesday afternoon at Eagle Field.
Both teams attempted to gain possession and find the right touch on what was a very rainy and wet day. Neither team could connect in the final third as they attempted through ball after through ball.
Samantha Prytulak nearly curved one in the upper left corner from outside the box but was denied by Presbyterian's goalkeeper Sydney Fontenot.
Fresh in the game off of a substitution, Courtney McCleod broke away from the competition for a one on one with Fontenot in the 33
rd minute; however, McLeod couldn't sneak it past Fontenot, as she made another great save. Both teams' defenses held up and the first half ended in a 0-0 deadlock. The Blue Hose outshot the Lady Eagles 8-5 in the first half and Winthrop goalkeeper
Karly Gustafson had four saves at the half to help keep the visiting team off balance.
Winthrop came out gunning for the lead. In the 48
th minute McLeod had another chance inside the box but once again could not beat Fontenot.
Zoe Conover and
Megan David both ripped a shot towards goal in the following minutes but both were sent wide.
Presbyterian responded with a flurry of five shots over the next 15 minutes. The game stayed deadlocked as neither team could find the back of the net. However, in the 89
th minute Gustafson sent a ball soaring over the top of the defense that found Prytulak. This time Fontenot could not stop Prytulak as she drilled a ball off the top of the post that ricocheted into the net for a 1-0 victory.
"We started the match off a little slow, but I was very pleased with our second half performance," said Winthrop Head Coach
Spencer Smith. "Samantha's finish was a great finish; we tried to stay resilient throughout the match as we told the girls one goal would probably win this game and it did. We are looking forward to the tournament; it is a new season now and anything can happen."
Winthrop, 6-8-3 (3-5-2 BSC), will advance to the Big South Conference Tournament as the No. 8 seed and will face the No. 1 seed which is still yet to be determined.
For the latest information on Winthrop women's soccer, follow @WUWOMENSSOCCER on Twitter or go to
www.winthropeagles.com.
