Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop women's soccer is on the road for its regular season finale as it heads to Boiling Springs, N.C. to take on Gardner-Webb Wednesday night.
| Winthrop Women's Soccer Game Information |
| Matchup |
Winthrop (3-6-4, 0-2-4 Big South) at Gardner-Webb (3-10-4, 0-3-3 Big South) |
| Date/Time |
Wednesday, Oct. 22 | 6 p.m. (EST) |
| Location |
Boiling Springs, N.C. | Greene-Harbison Stadium |
| Live Statistics |
Statbroadcast |
| Live Stream |
ESPN+ |
| Series Record |
Gardner-Webb leads 11-10-1 | Streak – W1 |
| Last Meeting |
Oct. 25, 2023 (Rock Hill, S.C.) | Winthrop won 2-1 |
| First Meeting |
Sept. 17, 2003 (Boiling Springs, N.C.) | Gardner-Webb won 2-1 |
| Winthrop Records |
Overall (153-191-46) | Home (65-105-14) | Away (64-109-14) |
| Shop |
Find all your needs for Winthrop gear – ShopWinthropeagles | ShopWinthropGear |
| Social |
X - @WinthropWSoccer / @WUEagles | Instagram - WinthropWSoccer | #ROCKtheHILL | #EverStand |
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS GARDNER-WEBB
Eagles and Runnin' Bulldogs meet for the 23
rd time. This series has been about as even as you can get with Gardner-Webb holding a slight edge at 11-10-1. Eagles won the last year's meeting in Rock Hill, 2-1. Winthrop's last result at Gardner-Webb came in 2017 with a 2-1 victory. In 22 meetings all-time, there have been 10 meetings decided by a single goal and one tie.
FOOT NOTES
- Eagles are unbeaten in their last three games, having earned a tie in all three meetings
- In fact, four of the last five games have ended in a tie (three of them with a 1-1 score)
- Eagles scored in the 86th minute on a goal by Monssi Avila-Gutierrez to earn a 1-1 draw with Radford
- Sadie Guest scored her first goal as an Eagle to tie take the lead in the 47th minute before USC Upstate tied the game in the 73rd minute
- Guest has now been involved in both goals in the last two games as she assisted on the Avila-Gutierrez goal vs. Radford
- In the previous game, the Eagles scored two goals in the final 15 minutes of the match to earn a 2-2 draw at PC
- Freshman Evyn Schokora scored both goals for the Eagles
- Suffered 1-0 loss to High Point in the last home match on Oct. 8
- Eagles opened up conference play with a 4-1 loss at Charleston before earning a 1-1 draw on the road at Longwood
- Sophia Balliet scored her team-leading third goal of the season in the 62nd minute to help the Eagles tie Longwood
- Balliet now has eight career goals and 18 career points in 26 games with the Eagles and leads the team in scoring with seven points
- In the win over VMI, sophomore Monssi Avila-Gutierrez scored the go-ahead goal in the 68th minute and freshman Cameron Celce scored her first collegiate goal in the 80th minute to secure the win
- Avila-Gutierrez is second on the team in scoring with six points and Schokora is third with five points
- Junior goalkeeper Mia Vrataric made four saves in the win over VMI, to record her 3rd shutout of the season
- Vrataric is second in the conference with three shutouts, ranks 5th in goals against average (1.62), 3rd in save percentage (.761) and 3rd in saves per game (5.2)
- The Eagles have eight newcomers, seven of them freshmen and the other is current lacrosse player Tori Iannotti who joined the team in the spring and will compete in both sports
- Eagles are in their 22nd season overall and this will mark the 390th game in program history
- The Eagles are 153-191-46 all-time
- Spencer Smith is in his 15th season as head coach and coached in his 200th game for the Eagles on Sept. 25, 2021 vs. USC Upstate
- Smith is 4th all-time in Big South history for victories and captured his 100th win at Winthrop in the 2-0 victory over VMI
- It is Smith's 36th season overall as he posted a career record of 270-309-57
- He is 100-120-29 with Winthrop soccer and posted a 172-90-28 mark coaching collegiate men's soccer
- Smith earned 137 of those wins at Radford, where he was two-time Big South Coach of the Year and led the Highlanders to two NCAA College Cup appearances
- The 137 wins at Radford rank 5th all-time in Big South history
LOOKING BACK AT 2023
- Eagles return 21 players from last year's roster and welcome back seven starters
- Among the returnees are three of the team's top four scorers from a year ago
- Balliet led the Eagles in goals (5) and points (11)
- Avila Gutierrez was third on the team in scoring (4g, 1a) in just seven games (six starts) followed by Abbie McCrea with eight points (4g)
2024 HONORS
- Evyn Schokora (Big South Offensive Player of the Week – Oct. 14)
- Came off the bench to score two goals and help the team earn a 2-2 draw at Presbyterian College
- Scored the first goal with just under 15 minutes left and then the game-tying goal with exactly 60 seconds remaining
- Mia Vrataric (Big South Defensive Player of the Week – Oct. 7)
- Faced 19 shots and made eight saves in the 1-1 draw at Longwood
- Made her final save in the 89th minute to help the Eagles earn a point on the road
- Cameron Celce (Big South Co-Freshman of the Week – Sept. 16)
- Came off the bench to score her first collegiate goal in a 2-0 win over VMI
- The goal came in the 80th minute to secure the victory
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS AVAILABLE
While season tickets are still on sale, fans can purchase single-game tickets for all home matches, which are available at
www.winthropeagles.com/soccertickets or call the ticket office at (803) 323-2345. All tickets are general admission ($8) and children 2 & under get in free.
WATCH THE EAGLES ON ESPN+
Select women's soccer home games during the 2024 season will air live on ESPN+. You can also catch select road games in Big South Conference play on ESPN+. To watch Big South games on ESPN+ you must have a subscription to ESPN+. For more information on how to subscribe,
click here.
UP NEXT
This game concludes the regular season for the Eagles. Depending on the result at Gardner-Webb they will have to await until the remainder of the league finishes the regular season to see which teams advance to the Big South Tournament.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
To keep up with the latest news on the Winthrop women's soccer program follow the Eagles on X (@WinthropWSoccer), Instagram (@WinthropWSoccer) and Facebook (/WUWomensSoccer)
