ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop lacrosse team was dominant on both sides of the field Thursday as the Eagles downed the Sacred Heart Pioneers 15-4 at Eagle Field.

Winthrop improved to 2-3 on the season with the victory, snapping a three-game losing skid while Sacred Heart remained winless on the year at 0-5.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Winthrop opened the scoring 2:39 into the contest as Kristen Shriver found the back of the net on a feed from Nicole Beatson.  Sacred Heart tied the game just under three minutes later before the Eagles rattled off six unanswered goals.  Katherine Judge and Beatson each scored twice during the run, putting Winthrop up 7-1 with 8:18 remaining in the half.

Sacred Heart scored its second goal of the half with 7:15 on the clock and Winthrop again went on a tear, scoring four more times in the last 5:08 to take an 11-2 lead into the break.

The Eagles reached a 10-goal cushion and a running clock only 2:48 into the second half as Beatson scored her fourth goal of the afternoon.  Winthrop again limited the Pioneers to only two tallies in the half while finding the back of the net three more times for the 15-4 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Beatson finished with a game-high five goals and seven points as she added two assists.  Shriver also tallied seven points on two goals and five assists.  Judge finished with four goals while Katie Clark added two with Allie Yeager and Lauren Morris each adding one goal.

Shriver reached both the 100 goal mark and 100 assist plateau with her performance Thursday.

Alaina Girani was strong in goal for the Eagles, allowing only three goals while making six saves.  Sara McGuire played the last five minutes for the Eagles making one save and giving up one goal.

Winthrop outshot Sacred Heart 34-13 for the game including a 24-5 advantage in the first half.  The Eagles won the ground ball battle 21-10 and narrowly edged the Pioneers 11-10 on draw controls.

WHAT'S UP NEXT

The Eagles will hit the road for their next three contests, starting with a Saturday matchup against Kennesaw State.  The Eagles and Owls are set for a 3 p.m. opening draw.