ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop men's soccer hits the road to open the 2019 season as it takes on Virginia Military Institute on Friday and will then play at Mount St. Mary's on Sunday.
 
GAME SNAPSHOT AT VMI
WHO: Winthrop (0-0, 0-0 Big South) at VMI (0-0, 0-0 SoCON)
WHEN: Aug. 30, 2019 / 4 p.m.
WHERE: Lexington, VA (Patchin Field / 1,000)
BROADCAST: SoCon Digital Network
LIVE STATS: Statbroadcast
FOLLOW ON TWITTER: @Winthropsoccer
TICKETS: Free Admission

GAME SNAPSHOT AT MOUNT ST. MARY'S
WHO: Winthrop (0-0, 0-0 Big South) at Mount St. Mary's (0-0, 0-0 NEC)
WHEN: Sept. 1, 2019 / 1 p.m.
WHERE: Emmitsburg, MD (Waldron Family Center / 1,000)
BROADCAST: Northeast Conference Network
LIVE STATS: Presto Sports
FOLLOW ON TWITTER: @Winthropsoccer
TICKETS: General Admission $8 / Youth (5-120 $5 and Children 4 years or younger are free

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS VMI
The Eagles and Keydets used to battle it out on the field as conference foes from 2003-13. The Keydets left the Big South Conference to return to the Southern Conference and this will be the first meeting since. The Eagles have won seven straight in the series, which they lead 14-0-2 all-time. Winthrop won the last meeting 5-1 in Lexington on Sept. 28, 2013 but the three meetings at Patchin Field prior were tight games.  
 
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS MOUNT ST. MARY'S
This is the first meeting between Winthrop and Mount St. Mary's. It's the first time the Eagles have played a game in the state of Maryland since the 1998 season when they played at the UMBC Tournament earning wins over St. Joseph's and Sacred Heart.      
 
A GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
The Eagles have a veteran core of players returning as well as nine freshmen to make up the 2019 roster. Eagles look to get back to the upper half of the Big South Conference this season. Winthrop played two home exhibition games in preparation for the season opener at VMI on Friday. The Eagles were 2-7 on the road last year with wins at Campbell and UNC Asheville. The offense is led by returning seniors Leif Estevez, Jordan Walshaw and Marc Carreras. Estevez led the team in scoring last year with five goals and four assists while Walshaw and Carrerras each had two goals and three assists.    
 
10^th YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF 2009 BIG SOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP
This season the Eagles celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the 2009 Big South Conference Championship team.
The Eagles were coming off a championship in 2008 as it lost some of the greatest players in the history of the program. The Eagles were still loaded with talent and after dropping the opener 3-1 at North Carolina State, they won five in a row. Heading into the Big South Tournament the Eagles were struggling, having lost three straight (outscored 10-1). Winthrop, seeded fourth, defeated Gardner-Webb in penalties to advance to the semifinals and then advanced to the championship after defeating top-seeded Coastal Carolina 4-2 in penalties. The Eagles went on to defeat Liberty 2-1 in the championship game, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season. Winthrop went on to lose 3-2 at 20^th-ranked Duke in the opening round of the NCAA College Cup.

BIG SOUTH PRESEASON POLL
The Eagles were voted 7^th in the 2019 Big South Conference preseason poll. Winthrop returns nine players that started at least eight games from a team that was 3-5 in the league last year. The Eagles finished in 7^th last season, a point out of tying Longwood and USC Upstate for 6^th. Defending regular-season champion High Point is the preseason favorite while Radford and Campbell tied for 2^nd in the poll.
 
WHAT'S AHEAD
After this weekend the Eagles will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. when they travel to Wofford College as part of the Big South/SoCON Shootout.
 
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
To keep up with the latest news on the Winthrop men's soccer program follow the Eagles on Twitter (@Winthropsoccer), Instagram (@winthropsoccer) and Facebooke (/WinthropUniversitySoccer).