Rock Hill, S.C. – Coming off a 16-4 loss at Davidson Wednesday night, Winthrop seeks their first win of the year at Queens Saturday afternoon. The contest is set to begin at 12:00 p.m.
A LOOK AT QUEENS
- This is the 3rd meeting between the Eagles and the Royals, with Queens leading the series, 2-0
- Queens won the first meeting 17-6 in Charlotte on Mar. 10, 2023 and then won the following year in Rock Hill 13-8 on Feb. 28, 2024
- 2025 marks the Royals' third season competing at the NCAA DI level. Queens Head Coach Kelly McQuilkin is in her third season as a head coach and leading the Royals
- Queens is 0-2 on the year after falling to ECU in their season opener before traveling to No. 19 Richmond and falling 15-8
- Elise Grissett led the Royals with four goals to match her career high while Kayleen Favreau scored three goals while Lily Greenwell scored one
- Favreau leads the Royals this season with seven goals while Grissett has nine points on five goals and four assists
- Devan Maready has started both games in goal
- Kayleen Favreau led the Royals a season ago with 80 points on 59 goals and 21 assists
- Elise Grissett was the third leading scorer with 51 points on 26 goals and 25 assists Jordan Tandler returns after totaling 18 goals prior to getting injured
- Defensively, Molly O'Donnell is back in the lineup after tallying 16 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers to earn a spot on the ASUN All-Freshman Team
- Bella Swanson also returns after totaling 23 ground balls, 16 caused turnovers, and 38 draw controls
- In goal, Gianna Coburn returns after seeing time in goal in 10 games last year
- The Royals were voted to finish fourth in the ASUN Preseason Poll
- Additionally, junior attacker Kayleen Favreau was named Preseason Player of the Year after being named 2024 Player of the Year
- Junior midfielder Elise Grissett was also named to the Preseason All-ASUN Team
- Following the 2024 season, Kayleen Favreau was named ASUN Player of the Year. She is the first athlete in Queens history to earn the honor since the Royals joined DI and the ASUN
- In total, the Royals had six honorees as Favreau, Ainsley Thurston, and Abby Zeigenfuse were named to the First Team, Elise Grissett and Caroline Kraemer were named to the Second Team, and Molly O'Donnell earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team
- Prior to the Royals' transition to DI, Queens was a powerhouse in DII Women's Lacrosse. Queens won seven SAC Regular Season Titles and eight SAC Tournament Championships
- The Royals also made five NCAA Championship appearances reaching the finals in 2021 and the semifinals in 2019 and 2022
LAST TIME OUT
- Winthrop fell at Davidson Wednesday night
- Tori Iannotti had a hat trick
- Winthrop had 10 saves to Davidson's four and won 14 draw controls to Davidson's 10
- Three Eagles won three or more draw controls
- Two more Eagle freshman made their debut
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES
- Winthrop is coming off a 2-13 (2-6 Big South) record in 2024
- Eagles are ranked seventh in the Big South preseason poll and are in their first season under interim head coach Hannah Potter
- Potter is Winthrop's fourth head coach in program history
- Eagles welcome 12 newcomers to the squad and assistant coach Jordan Bowers
- Eagles also return 18 players, seven of whom played in all 15 contests last season
- Junior Scarlet Cifarelli is the only returnee who finished in the Top 5 in goals scored last season with 13
- She also led the Eagles in assists last season with 20 and was second on the team in points with 33 and fifth in shots on goal with 18
- Emma Calhoun, Lily Davis, Gabby Pierpont and Madison Mayer were all in the Top 5 in ground balls in 2024
- Mayer also led the team in caused turnovers with 13 and draw controls with 67, resulting in her being named Honorable Mention by the Big South Conference
- Davis and Grace Herrero were close behind in the Top 5 in draw controls with 11 and eight, respectively
- Calhoun, Tori Iannotti, Chloe Patterson and Pierpont were one of six players representing the program on the 2024 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team
- With the selection of these six, they were the first ever academic all-district selections in lacrosse for the Eagles
- Eagles recorded their most man-up goals in school history as a team with six vs. Stonehill on Mar. 6, 2024
- Eagles also recorded the most man-up goals in school history over a season as a team last year with 24
- Eagles are 102-109 all-time as a program
- Eagles are 50-42 all-time at home
- Eagles are 44-37 all-time in Big South play
CAREER LEADERS
- Cifarelli is eight assists away from moving into seventh all-time in school history (currently has 40) and is 10 assists away from 50 in her career
- Cifarelli is also 28 points away from 100 in her career (currently has 72)
- She is nine points away from moving into 20th in school history
- She is 18 goals away from 50 in her career (currently has 32) and two shots on goal away from 50 in her career (currently has 48)
- Cifarelli is one man-up goal away from moving into a tie for 14th in school history
- Pierpont is 12 draw controls away from 50 in her career (currently has 38), which is good for 17th on the all-time school history list
- Pierpont is also a man-down goal away from moving into a tie for fourth in school history
- Mayer is 24 draw controls away from 100 in her career (currently has 76)
- She is also 12th in school history in this category and is six away from moving into 10th
- Iannotti is four draw controls away from 50 in her career (currently has 46)
- This is also good for 14th in school history
- Emma Calhoun is five saves away from 200 in her career (currently has 195)
- This is good for fourth in school history in saves
- Calhoun is also tied for 20th in school history in ground balls with and is four away from moving into 18th
- Calhoun needs one more win to move into a tie for 5th in school history in goalie victories
- Mikaylah Lindsay needs three more saves to move into eighth in school history in this category (currently has 32)
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Winthrop leads the Big South in draw controls per game with 15.50
- This is also good for 26th in the nation
- Cifarelli is third in the conference in assists per game with 2.00 and sixth in points per game with 3.50
- Mayer and Iannotti are fourth and seventh in the conference, respectively in draw controls per game with 4.50 and 3.50
- Iannotti is seventh in the conference in goals per game with 2.50
- Lindsay is seventh in the conference in saves per game with .750
- Iannotti leads the team in goals with five and shots on goal with five and is tied for the team lead in ground balls with five with Lindsay
- Cifarelli leads the team in assists with four and points with seven
- Mayer leads the team in free position goals with one and draw controls with nine
- Ava-Claire Collins is tied for the team lead in caused turnovers with two
WATCH THE EAGLES ON ESPN+
Of the nine home games to be played during the 2025 season, six of them 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.
LOOKING AHEAD
Winthrop returns to Eagle Field against rookie program Charlotte on Wednesday, The game will be at 12:00 p.m. EST.
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