Eagles move into BSC play

By Karl Lyles - Karl Lyles

The calendar has turned from summer to fall and the Winthrop sports schedule has shifted from non-conference to Big South action. The men's and women's soccer teams open BSC play with home matches and the volleyball team plays at conference-newcomer Gardner-Webb.

• MEN'S SOCCER -- Winthrop entered TopDrawerSoccer.com's Field of 48 this week at No. 48 and also remained 11th in the latest NSCAA/adidas South Atlantic Region Poll.

Winthrop entertains Liberty on Friday night. The game will be the Big South match of the season for the Eagles. They are off to a 5-3 start and are the favorite to capture the league title if you buy into the 2008 Big South preseason poll.

Winthrop captured four first-place votes and tallied 73 points. Liberty also got four first-place votes but finished with 72 points to claim second in the poll. Liberty has already lost one BSC game.

Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that the Flames ended Winthrop's season last year with a 2-1 overtime win in the BSC tournament semifinals.

Daniel Revivo remains among the top scorers in the country. He is tied for second in goals scored (eight), tied for 10th in points per game (2.00) and tied for 11th in goals per game (0.88).

• WOMEN'S SOCCER -- Winthrop takes on UNC Asheville on Saturday. The Bulldogs are 1-0 in the Big South and 3-5-1 overall.

Bulldog junior McKenna Stockhausen is the reigning BSC Player of the Week. McKenna scored twice and assisted on two others in a 4-1 win over Presbyterian in UNC Asheville's first conference match of the season.

Winthrop was picked sixth and UNC Asheville eighth in the preseason poll.

• VOLLEYBALL -- The Eagles have played a rugged preseason schedule against big schools from big conferences. The result is a 3-9 record and seven straight losses heading into Big South play.

Winthrop's losses this year are to (team/conference): Wake Forest (ACC), West Virginia (Big East), Morehead State (Ohio Valley), Clemson (ACC), College of Charleston (Southern), South Carolina (SEC), North Carolina (ACC), Minnesota (Big 10) and Texas Christian (Mountain West).

The rigors of the preseason have created tremendous optimism for coach Sally Polhamus and her team.

"Actually, (the non-conference) was very productive for us. We don't always look at win-loss records. We put this schedule together looking for growth and a chance to learn and get better," Polhamus said.

Winthrop played in the Gopher Invitational last weekend. Polhamus said the Eagles were in each game.

"We grew by leaps and bounds last weekend. Our record doesn't define our growth. We are very optimistic and training very hard," Polhamus said.

Winthrop plays at Gardner-Webb on Saturday. The Bulldogs are 2-11.

• SOFTBALL -- Winthrop will host the 2008 Akadema Fall Classic this weekend at Terry Field. Games will be played 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.