ROCK HILL, SC – The top-seeded Winthrop Eagles erased a six-goal deficit Friday afternoon to stun the fourth-seeded High Point Panthers 11-10 and advance to the first conference championship game in program history.
Winthrop will next play the second-seeded Liberty Flames on Sunday at 1 p.m. for the Big South title. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 from Eagle Field. Liberty defeated Coastal Carolina 14-8 in the second semifinal.
The Eagles trailed 6-0 with 12:50 left in the first half and 9-6 at the break. Winthrop outscored High Point 5-1 in the second half for the victory. It was the first time in program history that the Eagles came back to win a game after trailing at the half.
Trailing by three, the Eagles started pulling the momentum back early in the second half, scoring twice in the first 4:05. Allie Yeager netted her first with 27:05 on the clock and junior Logan McCarthy grabbed her third of the game with 25:55 left, pulling the Eagles within 9-8.
High Point scored its only goal of the half, a controversial one, with 20:32 on the clock to go up 10-8. After Winthrop turned the ball over in the midfield, the Panther bench requested a timeout, however, by the time it was granted, the ball was in the back of the net. After an official conference, they awarded the goal.
It didn't take Winthrop long to get back within one as junior Shannon Gallagher brought Winthrop back to 10-9 with 19:03 remaining. High Point then tried to burn as much clock as possible.
Winthrop wasn't able to tie the game at 10-10 until 2:09 left in the contest. Freshman Katie Clark pulled the Eagles even on a free-position shot. Following the goal, Winthrop coach John Sung called for a stick check on a High Point player. The officials checked the stick in question and found it to be illegal which gave the Eagles the ball.
With the ball, under two minutes to go, the Eagles worked the clock, trying to find the right shot. Winthrop got the ball to Gallagher who earned a free-position attempt with 53 seconds to play which she buried in the back of the net. The Eagles won the ensuing draw and were able to run off the final seconds for the victory.
McCarthy got the Eagles on the board with 9:14 left in the half which started a three-goal run for the Eagles. Freshman Kristen Shriver netted the next two for Winthrop, pulling it within three with 7:16 on the clock. High Point quickly squashed the Winthrop momentum, scoring the next two, going up 8-3 with 3:30 left in the half.
Winthrop was able to close the first half on a strong note, scoring three of the last four goals. Clark grabbed a tally with 1:15 to go and McCarthy scored her second with 29 seconds on the clock. High Point scored 10 seconds later followed by senior Jenna Kasmarik's tally 10 second later and Winthrop trailed 9-6 at the break.
McCarthy finished with three goals on six shots, going 1-for-3 on free-position attempts. Clark, Gallagher and Shriver each tallied two goals while Kasmarik and Yeager netted one apiece. Junior Hayley Krause led the Eagles with five draw controls while freshman Katherine Judge grabbed four and two ground balls. Freshman goalie Alaina Girani made four saves for the victory.
The Panthers were led by Samantha Brown's seven points on four goals and three assists. Kristina Renner scored twice while four other Panthers scored once.
The victory for Winthrop was the first over High Point in five tries in the program's three year history. It was the first loss for High Point in any Big South Tournament and means that the conference will crown a first-time champion on Sunday.
