Rock Hill, S.C. – Coming off a 22-5 loss at Queens Saturday, Winthrop returns home to face new program Charlotte Wednesday afternoon. The contest is set to begin at 4:00 p.m.
A LOOK AT CHARLOTTE
- This is the first meeting between the two schools
- Katie Gorski and Isa Torres combined for nine goals as Charlotte overpowered visiting Radford with a dominant 19-4 victory at Jerry Richardson Stadium on Saturday (Feb. 22) afternoon
- Gorski set a new program record with five goals
- Kylie Gioia's four assists also set a new program mark, the senior finished tied for the team-high with six points
- Defensively, Katie Ling was excellent in goal, earning 13 saves to just four goals allowed, plus a game-high six ground balls. The junior set a new program record and career-high in saves
- In their inaugural game, the 49ers led 12-0 at halftime over Gardner-Webb and scored the first 14 goals before the 20-2 final score on Saturday, Feb. 8. With 20 goals, the Niners set a conference record for most goals scored in a program's debut, while also topping South Florida's 19-goal debut
- Head Coach Clare Short and her staff have spent the past two-plus years carefully building an inaugural roster designed to compete in the American Athletic Conference. Mixing first-year players and veteran transfers, Short assembled a perfectly balanced roster that features 14 freshmen and 14 transfers, including seven players from Power conferences
- Lily Barger was chosen as a Preseason All-AAC selection in January. Barger, a redshirt junior from nearby Matthews, N.C., joined the 49ers squad in January. She spent the previous two seasons at Wofford, where she was a two-time all-conference selection and the 2024 Big South Co-Defensive Player of the Year
- In 2024, the five-foot-eight defender led the Big South in ground balls per game (3.25) and caused turnovers per game (2.25), setting single-season records for the Terriers
- On June 7th, 2022, Charlotte 49ers Director of Athletics Mike Hill tabbed Clare Short to be the first head coach of Charlotte's new women's lacrosse program. Before joining the Niners, Short spent the previous six years as the head coach of Queens, where she became the winningest coach in Royals' history
- Short, a three-time South Region Coach of the Year, won eight straight South Atlantic Conference tournament titles with the Royals, seven regular season championships, three South Region titles, and made four appearances in the NCAA tournament, including three straight appearances in the NCAA Division II Final Four and the national championship game in 2021
- In Spring 2022, Short led No. 1 ranked Queens to a sixth regular season South Atlantic Conference (SAC) championship, seventh tournament title, and a 21-1 overall record. The Royals set a new D-II record with 463 goals while also setting new program records for assists (238), points (701), and draw controls (437)
LAST TIME OUT
- Winthrop dropped their third straight contest at Queens Saturday afternoon.
- Winthrop had 10 saves to five for Queens
- Winthrop also won 16 draw controls to 12 for the Royals
- Five players made their Eagle debut (four freshman and one redshirt freshman)
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 102-110 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 27 points away from 100 in her career (currently has 73)
- She is eight points away from moving into 20th in school history
- She is 17 goals away from 50 in her career (currently has 33) and now has 49 shots on goal in her career
- Cifarelli is one man-up goal away from moving into a tie for 14th in school history
- Gabby Pierpont is seven draw controls away from 50 in her career (currently has 43), 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 third in school history
- Madison Mayer is 23 draw controls away from 100 in her career (currently has 77)
- She is also 12th in school history in this category and is five away from moving into 10th
- Tori Iannotti is two draw controls away from 50 in her career (currently has 48)
- This is also good for 14th in school history
- Emma Calhoun now has 198 saves in her career and is two away from moving to 200
- This is good for fourth in school history in saves
- Calhoun is also tied for 20th in school history in ground balls with 52 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 has moved into eighth in school history in saves (currently has 37)
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Winthrop leads the Big South in draw controls per game with 15.33
- Cifarelli is fourth in the conference in assists per game with 1.33
- Mayer is eighth in the conference in draw controls per game with 3.33
- Lindsay is ninth in the conference in saves per game with 6.67
- Iannotti is 10th in the conference in goals per game with 2.33
- Iannotti leads the team in goals with seven and shots on goal with 10
- Three players are tied for the team lead in ground balls with five
- Cifarelli leads the team in assists with four and points with eight
- Mayer leads the team in free position goals with one and draw controls with 10
- Emily Hollinger leads the team in caused turnovers with three
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 has a long layoff but will return to action on Saturday, Mar. 8 at 12:00 p.m. at home vs. Farleigh Dickinson.
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