ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop lacrosse team puts its perfect record on the line this Saturday as the Eagles host Army and Bryant at Eagle Field in the team's second doubleheader of the season.
Winthrop enters the weekend with a 7-0 mark and is one of only nine undefeated teams in Division I so far this year. The Eagles are coming off victories over VCU and William & Mary last weekend.
The Eagles have made life for opposing defenses tough this season with numerous offensive threats. Winthrop has four players who have tallied double-digit goals. Kristen Shriver leads the team with 20 points with 10 goals and 10 assists while Shannon Gallagher has totaled 17 goals and two assists. Katie Clark and Alexis Linhardt have scored 14 and 11 goals respectively while Abigail Blevins has 18 points on nine goals and nine assists.
Army will be the first to take on the Eagles Saturday at noon. The Black Knights enter Saturday's contest with a 3-2 overall record and last played on March 5, a 6-5 loss to Quinnipiac.
Army and its opponents have been very evenly matched this season. Army has scored 8.4 goals per game this season while allowing 8.8. Four of their five games have been decided by two goals or less. Sophomore Amy Johnston is the team's leading scorer with 12 goals this season to go along with six assists. She also leads the Black Knights with 25 draw controls. Freshman Kayla Rowley has played every minute in goal this season for Army and has a .421 save percentage.
The Bryant Bulldogs will take on the Eagles in the nightcap of the doubleheader at 6 p.m. Bryant has a 2-3 record this year and fell to Brown 11-10 on Wednesday. Bryant this year has scored an average of eight goals per game while allowing 11.
Nicole Britton and Lauren Descalzo have led the Bulldogs offensively this year, totaling 16 and 12 points respectively. Britton has recorded nine goals and seven assists while Descalzo has scored 12 goals. Sophomores Daja Andrews and Samantha Santeramo have almost evenly split time in the cage this season. Andrews has a 1-2 record and has allowed 11.33 goals per game while Santeramo has a 1-1 mark while allowing 10.68 goals per contest.
Following Saturday's doubleheader, the Eagles will start a stretch of four straight road contests. Winthrop will head to Bucknell on Wednesday, March 16 for a 2 p.m. game against the Bison.
