ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop men's soccer returns home in hopes of snapping a five-game losing streak when it hosts the College of Charleston on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m.
GAME SNAPSHOT VS. COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
WHO: Winthrop (1-5, 0-0 Big South) vs. College of Charleston (1-5-1, 0-2 Colonial)
WHEN: Sept. 25, 2019 / 6 p.m.
WHERE: Rock Hill, SC (Eagle Field)
BROADCAST: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: Statbroadcast
FOLLOW ON TWITTER: @Winthropsoccer
TICKETS: Free Admission
PROMOTION: Free Winthrop Soccer Scarves to the first 150 students
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
This will mark the 29
th meeting all-time between the Eagles and Cougars. Last year the Cougars won 3-0 in Mt. Pleasant and have now won seven straight in the series. Charleston leads the all-time series 21-7 and has won its last four visits to Eagle Field. Two of the last three meetings have been one goal contests.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
The Cougars step away from CAA competition to take on the Eagles. Charleston is coming off a 4-2 loss at Northeastern in its second CAA match of the season. It was the third straight loss for the Cougars with the last two coming on the road. So far this season the Cougars are 1-0-1 against teams from the Big South having won 1-0 at Presbyterian College and earning a draw at home (0-0) against Radford. The offense is led by Jake Nicholson and Tucker Heffron with two goals each (4 points). The Cougars sport a young squad with nine upperclassmen and just three seniors. Isaac Alstrom has been in goal every second of the season and has a 2.33 goals against average with 19 saves.
A GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
Coming off a fifth straight loss, the Eagles return to their home field in hopes of ending the streak. The Eagles created numerous scoring chances against Georgia State, finishing with 11 shots (eight of which were on frame). While the Eagles did not have
Miles Rapp in the starting lineup for the first time this season, the team did welcome back
Marc Carreras and
George Orfanidis back from injury. Carreras had not played since the 4
th minute at Wofford College when he left with injury. Orfanidis made his first start of the season at Georgia State. With injuries to
Chandler Gaunce and
Aidan McCormick, freshman
Sam Jones made his first collegiate start at Georgia State and finished the game with nine saves. This is the final preparation the Eagles get before opening their Big South Conference slate at High Point Saturday night.
10th 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
Winthrop heads to High Point, NC to take on the 2018 Big South Conference regular season champions and preseason favorites to win the conference this season. The Eagles will face off against High Point Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. inside Vert Stadium.
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 Facebook (/WinthropUniversitySoccer).
