Rock Hill, S.C.—The Winthrop men's soccer team hosts Gardner-Webb Wednesday night in a Big South Conference matchup.
 

Winthrop Men's Soccer Game Information
Matchup	Gardner-Webb (4-2-2, 0-0-2 Big South) at Winthrop (0-8-0, 0-1-0 Big South)
Date/Time	Saturday, Sept. 24 | 7:30 p.m.
Location	Rock Hill, S.C. | Eagle Field
Live Statistics	Statbroadcast
Live Stream	ESPN+
Social	Twitter - @Winthropsoccer / @WUEagles | Instagram - winthropuniversitysoccer | #ROCKtheHILL | #EverStand
Tickets/Promotions	Free Admission | "WHITE OUT" - All Eagle Fans Wear White!

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS GARDNER-WEBB
Winthrop and Gardner-Webb meet for the 28^th time. The Eagles lead the all-time series 16-8-3. The last meeting came on Nov. 3, 2021 in Boiling Springs, N.C. as the Eagles lost 5-4 in overtime. It was the second straight loss in the series for the Eagles. The last time the Eagles won at home against Gardner-Webb was Oct. 26, 2016 in a 1-0 victory.

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FOOT NOTES

• This game against the Runnin' Bulldogs is part of a doubleheader with the women's team that will play prior against Radford with a 5 p.m. kickoff
• Eagles are coming off a 4-1 loss to High Point in their Big South opener on Sept. 24
• The Eagles have faced one of the toughest non-conference schedules where the opponents have a combined record of 40-10-9 (Winthrop's schedule strength was number 1 heading into the game vs. High Point)
• Six of the seven non-conference opponents the Eagles faced are currently ranked in the region, three in the Top 15 nationally and another receiving Top 25 votes
• Freshman Aiden Williams leads the team with two goals, while Bryant Jimenez-Pearce, Louis Danielson, Bryan Marshall and Nick Guido have one goal
• Eagles returned five starters from the 2021 squad that advanced to the Big South Conference Tournament semifinals
• Jimenez-Pearce is the top returning scorer from last season (5g, 3a) as the Eagles lost three of the top four in points
• Sam Jones led all goalkeepers with 12 starts in 2021 and posted a 1.94 goals against average to go along with three shutouts
• Senior Sean Green and junior Grayson Woodard scored multiple goals last season
• Green had three goals and an assist to finish fifth on the team in scoring and Woodard had two goals and an assist to finish sixth in scoring
• The Eagles finished the 2021 season ranked 23^rd in the country in scoring offense (2.06 goals per game)
• Opened the season with six straight games on the road
• This is the 48^th season for the program and this game marks the 953^rd in the history of the program with 450 wins all-time
• Daniel Ridenhour is in his seventh season as the head coach of the Eagles after serving the previous 12 seasons as an associate/assistant coach
• Winthrop has five Big South Conference Championships, which is the second most by any member in league history
• The Eagles have made six NCAA appearances, also the second-most by any league program
• Winthrop has an all-time record of 353-342-45 while in the Big South and the 353 victories are the second-most all-time

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ROAD TRIPPIN'
The Eagles opened the 2022 season with six straight games on the road that started with Mercer. Then they headed back to the state of Georgia to take on Georgia State (Sept. 2) and then a few days up to Winston-Salem, NC to play Wake Forest. The fourth game of the year will was at South Carolina followed by games at Charlotte and UNC Greensboro before finally playing at home on Sept. 20. Wake Forest, Charlotte and UNC Greensboro are currently ranked in the national polls. Five of the six teams are ranked regionally.

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CHAMPIONSHIP ANNIVERSARIES
2022 marks the 20^th Anniversary of the first ever Big South Conference men's soccer championship by the Winthrop program. In 2022 the Eagles hosted the conference tournament and faced 13^th-ranked Coastal Carolina. Winthrop was the top seed for the tournament having defeated Coastal Carolina in the regular season, 2-1 in overtime when the Chanticleers were 10^th in the country. Winthrop captured the Big South Championship with a 1-0 victory in overtime thanks to a goal by Francis Wakhisi. The Eagles finished the season 17-7-1 after playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.  
 It is also the 10^th Anniversary for the 2012 Winthrop men's soccer team that took a different path than the 2002 team to earn a berth to the NCAA College Cup. The Eagles battled through injuries in 2012 as it entered the Big South Tournament as the 6^th seed. Winthrop traveled to 3^rd-seeded Liberty in the opening round and pulled off a 2-1 overtime win. In the semifinals the Eagles took on 2^nd-seeded Radford and entered overtime with only 10 men as Alex Isern saved the day with a goal in the first overtime period to advance to the title game. In the title game, the Eagles scored two goals in the final 3:30 of regulation to advance to the program's 5^th NCAA College Cup Appearance. That year the Eagles advanced to the Round of 32 after knocking off SMU on the road in penalties.

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LOOKING AHEAD
The Eagles will head to Buies Creek, N.C. on Saturday, Oct. 1 for their first Big South road contest when they face Campbell at 3 p.m.

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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).