ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop lacrosse team closes its non-conference schedule Friday afternoon as the Eagles travel to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats at 4 p.m.

Winthrop (7-2) will be looking to rebound from only its second loss of the season last Wednesday at San Diego State which snapped a six-game winning streak.

Despite the Eagles' lowest scoring output of the season against the Aztecs, Winthrop is still among the conference and national leaders in scoring among other statistical categories.

Winthrop is averaging 15.22 goals per game this season which leads the conference by more than 2.5 goals per game and also ranks the Eagles fourth in the country.  The Eagles are outscoring their opponents by nearly six goals per game and is one of only two Big South schools who have a positive scoring margin this season.  Their 5.89 scoring margin ranks 12^th in the NCAA.

The Eagles' success on the draw control has been a large contributor to their scoring output.  Winthrop averages 14.78 draws per game which leads the Big South and puts them 8^th in Division I. 

Senior Jenna Kasmarik, who was held scoreless against San Diego State for the first time in her two years with the Eagles still leads the NCAA with 4.63 goals per game and is third with 37 total goals. 

Freshman Katherine Judge is currently ranked third in the NCAA and first in the Big South, averaging 3.5 ground balls per contest.  Junior Shannon Gallagher is second in the conference and 12^th in the NCAA with 2.11 caused turnovers per game.

Cincinnati enters Friday's non-conference tilt with a 2-7 overall record and has lost its last two contests.  The Bearcats have met Big South opponents Coastal Carolina and Presbyterian this year, defeating the Blue Hose and losing to the Chanticleers.

The Bearcats have relied heavily on junior Courtney Curtis to provide its offense this year as she leads the team with 25 goals.  There are four players with nine goals this season, the next closest.  Sophomore Skylar DeLemos leads the team in draw controls with 27.  Junior Meg Gulmi has recorded all nine decisions for the Bearcats this season with a 14.53 goals against average and a .390 save percentage.

The Eagles and Bearcats have met last season with Cincinnati coming out with the 10-9 victory in triple overtime.  The game had been scheduled for Eagle Field but was moved to an off-campus location due to field conditions.

Winthrop will begin its quest for a conference title next Saturday, April 4 when the Eagles hit the road to face the Presbyterian Blue Hose.