Rock Hill, S.C. – Coming off a narrow loss at Old Dominion last Wednesday, Winthrop wraps up non-conference action vs. the California Golden Bears at home on Sunday, Mar. 23. The contest is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+.
A LOOK AT CALIFORNIA
- This is the third meeting between the two schools, with California leading the series 2-0
- The first meeting was on Feb. 23, 2020 in Rock Hill, with the Golden Bears winning 11-7
- The two teams met last season on Mar. 10, 2024 in Berkeley, Ca., with Cal again winning 14-3
- In their most recent game last night, Cal could not keep up with No. 13 Duke in the second half of a 13-4 loss to the Blue Devils
- The Golden Bears fell to 4-6 overall and 0-5 in ACC play with the loss
- Last season California finished 5-10 and 2-5 in the final ever season of the now-defunct PAC 12 Conference
- Cal has turned over a third of its roster from 2024 with 20 players returning and 10 new faces on its 30-player roster in 2025
- Returning senior Kennedy Mason finished third on the squad with 21 goals and fourth with 27 points in 2024
- Junior Josie Liliquist returns after putting up 28 points a season ago, the third most on the team
- Annette Ciupek, Callan Fritsch, Kalena Johnson, Clara Page and Courtney Wong also return after starting all 15 games for the Bears in 2024
LAST TIME OUT
- Christina Warren scored six goals as a furious second half comeback fell short at Old Dominion Wednesday afternoon, 14-12
- Winthrop dominated in draw controls, 22-8
- Warren led the Eagles in goals with six and shots with 11
- Winthrop was perfect in clear opportunities, 10-10
- Erin Whitaker forced three turnovers
- Three Eagles had three or more draw controls, with Tori Iannotti leading the way with six of them
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 104-112 all-time as a program
- Eagles are 52-43 all-time at home
- Eagles are 44-37 all-time in Big South play
SEASON HONORS
- Christina Warren-Big South Freshman of the Week
- In her first career start, Warren scored a game-high seven goals to lead Winthrop to an 18-17 comeback win over Merrimack
- She converted all four free-position attempts and added one ground ball and one caused turnover
- Warren scored twice in the first half, added another in the third quarter, and netted four in the fourth, including the game-tying goal with 58 seconds remaining to force overtime
- She scored on seven of her 10 shots, nine of which went on target
CAREER LEADERS
- Scarlet Cifarelli is three assists away from moving into seventh all-time in school history (currently has 45) and is five assists away from 50 in her career
- Cifarelli is also 12 points away from 100 in her career (currently has 88)
- She is seven goals away from 50 in her career (currently has 43) and now has 66 shots on goal in her career
- Gabby Pierpont now has 50 draw controls in her career
- Pierpont is also a man-down goal away from moving into a tie for third in school history
- Madison Mayer is 10 draw controls away from 100 in her career (currently has 90)
- She has moved into 10th in school history in this category
- Iannotti has now gone over 50 draw controls in her career (currently has 59)
- Emma Calhoun now has 211 saves in her career
- This is good for fourth in school history in saves
- Calhoun has moved into a tie for 4th in school history in goalie victories
- Mikaylah Lindsay is seventh in school history in saves (currently has 62)
- She passed teammate Maddy Hodgson, who currently has 55
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Winthrop leads the Big South in draw controls per game with 15.57
- Winthrop is fourth in the Big South in saves per game with 9.43
- Cifarelli is fifth in the conference in assists per game with 1.29 and seventh in points per game with 3.29
- Lindsay is seventh in the conference in saves per game with 6.43 while Calhoun is 10th with 4.20
- Mayer is eighth in the conference in draw controls per game with 3.17
- Davis is 10th in the conference in caused turnovers per game with 1.14
- Mayer and Iannotti are 8th and 10th, respectively, in the Big South in draw controls per game with 3.29 and 2.86
- Cifarelli leads the team in goals with 14, assists with nine, points with 23, shots on goal with 23 and is tied for the team lead in groundballs with 10 with three other players
- Mayer leads the team in draw controls with 23
- Davis leads the team in caused turnovers with eight
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 begins Big South play at home against Radford on Wednesday, Mar. 26 at 4:00 p.m.
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