ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop lacrosse team earned a hard-fought 18-13 victory Saturday afternoon over the Liberty Flames to secure the third seed in the upcoming Big South Tournament.
Winthrop closes the regular season on a five-game winning streak and sits at 8-9 overall and 5-2 in the conference. Liberty fell to 4-3 in the Big South and 5-12 overall with the loss.
Saturday's contest was also Senior Day for the Eagles as seniors Lexie Walton, Grace Sisserson, Paige Jenkins and Sydney Cope were recognized prior to the contest.
After a scoreless opening five minutes, the Eagle struck first with two goals in 34 seconds, taking a 2-0 lead. After Liberty netted their first goal just under six minutes into the contest, Winthrop rattled off four in a row to take a 6-1 lead with 14:22 on the clock.
The Flames then went on a quick three-goal spurt, scoring three times in only 15 seconds to pull within two at 6-4. Winthrop was able to settle down after the Liberty run, scoring the next four goals, to take a six-goal lead with 5:31 left in the half. Over the final five minutes Liberty outscored the Eagles 3-2 and Winthrop took a 12-7 lead into the break.
In a much lower-scoring second half, the Flames scored three of the first five goals and trailed 14-10 with 17:23 remaining in the contest. The Eagles were then able to put a little space between themselves and the Flames, scoring the next three to open a 17-10 lead with just over 12 minutes on the clock.
Liberty tried to make a late run, scoring three goals in just under two minutes. That got the Flames within four with four minutes left, but they couldn't manage another tally as the Eagles took the contest 18-13.
Nicole Beatson had a strong offensive day, tallying eight points on five goals and three assists. Katherine Judge and Katie Clark each tallied four goals while Kristen Shriver finished with five points with four assists and one goal. Ellie Marindin also contributed three goals.
Judge was also strong on the draw circle for the Eagles, corralling 11 draw controls and picking up five ground balls. Laura Trilling also had five ground balls and forced four turnovers. Paige Jenkins and Caroline Boudreau also had three caused turnovers.
The Eagles will host Radford in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament next Sunday, April 30 at 1 p.m. at Eagle Field. The semifinals and championship rounds will be hosted May 5 and 7 respectively at High Point who earned the right to host after winning the regular season title.
