Winthrop lacrosse's defensive wall backed up by Girani

Winthrop lacrosse coach John Sung clings to that timeless cliche, “defense wins championships.”

With sophomore Alaina Girani patrolling the Eagles’ goalmouth circle, Winthrop is banking on the old maxim staying true. Playing goalie is something Girani has done since she was very young; she was the only one who could catch or throw when a local girls’ lacrosse team started.

But tending net in a high-octane sport like lacrosse, especially at the college level, isn’t easy.

“You definitely have to have a lot of focus,” the sophomore exercise science major said. “There’s a lot of pressure on you because you want to play good for your teammates and you don’t want to let the defense down because if they make a good play, you have to make that save.”

That said, the Virginia native is no stranger to being in the spotlight.

Girani was named first team all-conference and Big South Freshman of the Year last year after playing a big part in the four-year old program’s first conference title and trip to the NCAA tournament.

Winthrop coach John Sung cited Girani’s ability to see the ball and her quick hands as reasons for her individual success. He’s seen considerable improvement in Girani since she was thrown into a prominent role last year.

“Now she’s a sophomore, I think she’s adjusted to the speed of the game and that was her biggest thing,” he said.

Following Wednesday’s 20-2 throttling of Presbyterian, Winthrop sits at 12-2 overall. Picked to win the league in the Big South preseason poll, the Eagles remain a big favorite to repeat as conference champions heading into the meat of the league schedule.

It could be argued that they’re one one the more battle-tested teams heading into the final stretch of the season, with close road wins against Maryland-Baltimore County and William & Mary, and a one-goal overtime loss at home to Bryant.

Winthrop has been able to score since the program’s inception in 2013, but this team’s defensive improvement has made it one of Sung’s most complete teams. Sung said the team is using defense to create offense, not something the Eagles have done in the past.

To put it in perspective, the Eagles are playing some of the best defense in the short history of the women’s lacrosse program. They’re on pace to have one of the more productive turnover ratios in program history, already having more forced turnovers than in the 2013 and 2014 seasons, respectively.

Winthrop is also holding opponents to less than seven goals a game, and have allowed 10 less goals than at the same point in the season a year ago.

Having one of the best goalies in the Big South helps the cause. Girani actually has more saves than the total number of goals allowed by Winthrop this season as of April 5. Girani said that she’s not really paying attention to numbers when out on the field, but wasn’t shy about crediting her fellow defensive players on their effort.

“Our defense this year has been so great. They come up with these huge plays and they just give me the shots that I want to see, and they make my job easier.”

This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Winthrop lacrosse's defensive wall backed up by Girani."