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ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop lacrosse team kicks off its season Wednesday with a road game at Elon and the Eagles will have a new look on and off the field as the team looks for its third straight Big South Conference title.
Winthrop will be under the direction of first-year head coach Julika Blankenship who joined the Eagle family in the summer of 2016 after three successful seasons at Queens University.
Winthrop graduated its first-ever class this past May and with it the Big South's most prolific scorer in Shannon Gallagher. Despite the loss, the Eagles will still feature a very high-level offense.
The junior trio of Kristen Shriver, Katie Clark and Allie Yeager are all expected to make a big impact on the Eagle offense this season. The three attackers combined for nearly a third of the team's goals last season. Senior Sydney Cope, who missed last season due to injury, is also going to be looked upon to have a prominent role in the offense.
Adding depth to the offense will be three newcomers: junior Nicole Beatson along with freshmen Ellie Marindin and Bianca Tedesco. Beatson, a transfer from Monroe Community College, was a prolific goal-scorer in her first two years, totaling 95 goals while also assisting on 55 others. She won two National Championships at Monroe while also twice being named a First-Team All-American.
"We have some very powerful offensive bodies that just have a knack for finding the cage," Blankenship said. "We've been able to work the new faces into the fold and gotten everyone to play cohesively and throughout the fall we were very impressed with our offensive abilities."
The Eagles return two-time All-Conference performer Katherine Judge in the midfield. Judge tied for the team lead in draw controls last season while finishing second in both ground balls and caused turnovers. Also expected to show prominently in the midfield is freshman Caroline Boudreau from Amherst, NH where she was a 2016 US Lacrosse All-American.
The defense for the Eagles will be the most experienced and cohesive unit on the field as it features all returners. Senior Paige Jenkins will lead the defense along with juniors Madison Cassidy, Jordan Elliott and Laura Trilling. Providing help in a defensive midfield role will be senior Grace Sisserson along with sophomore Mackenzie Cunningham.
As the spring season commenced in mid-January, the strongest spot for the Eagles would have been in goal with defending Big South Defensive Player of the Year Alaina Girani. That changed drastically when Girani suffered a foot injury that will keep her out of the 2017 season. Blankenship and the Eagles have now turned to freshman Chloe Wormsley to step between the pipes.
"Chloe has stepped between the pipes and is ready to be our goalie and we're excited to see her maturation this year," Blankenship said. "This team understands that there is no time for freshman mistakes and everyone has added a little more weight to their shoulders as we enter the season."
Winthrop's opener at Elon starts a tough non-conference schedule for the Eagles. Winthrop returns home to start a stretch of six of their next seven at home. The Eagles will host Siena (Feb. 19), William & Mary (Feb. 24), VCU (Feb. 26) and Oregon (March 3).
Winthrop will make a quick trip out west to face Colorado on March 15 before returning to Eagle field to host Marist (March 17) and Davidson (March 19). The Eagles close non-conference play with a two-game road swing at Cincinnati on March 24 and Michigan on March 26.
Conference play for Winthrop starts on April 1 with a road game at Campbell followed by an April 5 contest at High Point. The Eagles will be home against Radford on April 8 before hitting the road again Presbyterian on April 12 and Longwood on April 15. Winthrop finishes conference play at home against Gardner-Webb on April 19 and Liberty on April 22.
The conference tournament will begin with quarterfinal matches at the top four seeds on April 29. The semifinals and championship will be contested at the regular season champion's home site on May 4 and May 6 respectively.
