BOILING SPRINGS — The Big South Conference-leading Winthrop Eagles closed the first half on a 5-1 run, and extended the stretch with five straight goals in the early moments of the second period en route to a 19-7 victory over Gardner-Webb in conference play on Wednesday evening.
Prior to the opening draw, head coach Jillian Krick and her staff honored senior attack Alanna Costigan (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and team manager Will Manning for their contributions to the program as part of Gardner-Webb's first senior night.
Gardner-Webb's (3-11, 1-5 Big South) offense put together one of its most efficient nights of the season, scoring seven goals on 12 shots - 11 on goal - as the defense forced 12 turnovers and won the ground ball battle, 32-28. Winthrop (14-2, 5-0 Big South) attempted 41 shots - including 35 on goal - in the contest, while controlling 17-of-28 draws and succeeding on 14-of-18 clear attempts.
Cassidy McDowell (Cincinnati, Ohio) nearly equaled her season-high with 16 saves, one short of her career-best, while scooping up three ground balls and forcing one turnover. Alex Fusco (Marietta, Ga.) and Sadie Bryant (Charlottesville, Va.) each tallied two goals, as Monique Martin (Tyngsborough, Mass.) added six ground balls and five caused turnovers.
Amanda Steinmuller (Ellicott, Md.) chipped in one goal and one assist, as Emma Rose (Weston, Fla.) posted her seventh goal of the season and Emma Rufolo (Woodstock, Md.) dished out two assists. Destiny Mead (Palm Harbor, Fla.) recorded a game-high nine draw controls to equal Martin's single-game program record, set last season against Liberty.
Logan McCarthy paced the Eagles with five goals, as Shannon Gallagher added a hat trick and two assists. Kristen Shriver and Alexis Linhardt each tacked on a hat trick of their own, while Danielle Ellis dished out four assists. Alaina Girani made four saves as Katherine Judge and Hayley Krause both recorded five draw controls.
Winthrop opened the scoring with three goals in the first 2:30, taking an early 3-0 lead on a McCarthy strike before Fusco answered with her 28th of the season to trim the margin to 3-1 off a dish from Steinmuller. Abby Hanscom (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Bryant countered a trio of Eagle strikes with tallies of their own 13 minutes apart, pulling Gardner-Webb within three at 6-3 with 7:37 remaining in the first half.
The Eagles would respond with five of the next six goals to push the lead to 11-4 heading into the break, as Gallagher capped the half with her third of the night after Fusco converted a free position attempt at the 1:26 mark. Winthrop extended the run to 10-1 with five straight goals to open the second half, pushing the lead to 16-4 on a McCarthy strike with 22:33 to play.
The Runnin' Bulldogs fought back with a pair of well-worked goals at the 17:14 and 14:48 marks, as Rufolo set up Steinmuller and Bryant for back-to-back tallies to close the gap to 16-6. Rose would cap the scoring for Gardner-Webb at the 6:34 mark as Winthrop edged the Runnin' Bulldogs, 3-2, over the final 13:23 of the game.
Gardner-Webb returns to action on Saturday when the Runnin' Bulldogs travel to Lynchburg, Virginia to take on Liberty (2-12, 1-4 Big South) in conference play at 1:00 pm.
