Sports seasons are changing from soccer to basketball with Homecoming Week in full swing at Winthrop University. Don’t lose focus on soccer just yet though.
According to Winthrop Athletics, the Winthrop University men’s soccer team has qualified for the Big South Tournament this year after their final regular season match against Gardner-Webb, the first time since 2015 that the team has qualified for the Big South Playoffs. Winthrop will be competing in the quarterfinals on Nov. 10, and the soccer team is hoping to capitalize on their recent winning streak to perform well in the tournament.
Jordan Walshaw, midfielder, has contributed in scoring goals to help place the Eagles in this position to go forward in the tournament.
“The season has ended well, we were finding our way for a while in the beginning and we were inconsistent. Over the last 3-4 weeks we’ve got on a bit of a roll and found some consistency to keep getting good results which has now put us in a good position,” Walshaw said.
With the recent games and lessons learned from this season, the Winthrop Eagles are looking to do well in the upcoming tournament to show the potential Winthrop has in the Big South Conference.
A senior midfielder, Leif Estevez, scored two goals in a very important game against USC Upstate to help the team put away the win and clinch a spot in the tournament.
“Now that we are in the tournament, everything is possible. I strongly believe that you can win one game against any team that you face,” Estevez said. “While we might not be the favorites in every match-up everything is possible if you only play 90 minutes. We showed that against Campbell last year when we beat them at their place 1-0. We weren’t the better team, but we still walked away with the win.”
Winthrop’s athletic training staff and the equipment used in the athletic facilities have also played an important role in training our athletes to do their best on the field.
“The athletic training staff is great here at Winthrop. Not only are they helping us to recover fast from injuries, but we also are doing a lot of preventive work,” Estevez said. “The athletic training room became a place for me to do my preventive exercises while getting in a good mood by spending time with my teammates and athletic trainer.”
Besides the players and athletic training staff, the men’s soccer team isn’t complete without the help and admiration of sports fans who take the time to watch the games. Michael Covil, sophomore sport management major, is an avid, dedicated Winthrop Sports fan, who particularly loves soccer. Covil is the face behind Winthrop Live, @winthrop.live on Instagram and @winthroplive on Twitter, and he regularly attends sporting events to show his support for the Winthrop sports teams.
“It’s been a huge turnaround this year. Having missed the Big South Tournament for the last 3 seasons, it’s great to be back where we belong,” Covil said. “ And to do it with all these close, come from behind wins has been so much fun. I can’t wait to see what the Big South Tournament holds for the boys. They have a feel for the dramatic, so win or lose the last few games are going to be exciting.”
Throughout the current season and upcoming tournament, the athletes on the Winthrop men’s soccer team work hard to improve themselves and work together for each match.
Miles Rapp, a midfielder for the Eagles, shared with us some of his goals from the season.
“My personal goals for the season were to just be the best leader I could be for the team and to give my best for the team every day,” Rapp said.
One of the ways that members worked to prepare for the season were working on training and conditioning in the athletic facilities to improve their lifting and working on tactics before the upcoming season.
“I try to train as well as possible each time I step onto the training pitch. I like to get my gym work done and also extra practice outside of training to make sure I’m ready for anything that comes my throughout the season,” Walshaw said.
Another way they trained is that over the summer, members of the soccer team participated in USL League Two summer league to keep up their training. International students on the team performed conditioning in their home country.
“I personally went back to my home country Germany and took part in the preseason of a team close to my home town to stay in shape,” Estevez said. “Now that the season is going into the playoffs we focus on keeping everybody healthy and get enough rest while also preparing for the next game.”
On the team, members also developed moments of camaraderie with each other through matches from soccer conferences and tournaments throughout the past few years.
“My two best memories are when we won the big south in 2015 and when we qualified for the conference tournament again this year after beating Upstate,” Rapp said. “Being around the guys after these two games is something I will never forget.”
With Homecoming just around the corner, the Winthrop Athletics are especially looking for enthusiasm from the Winthrop student body at upcoming games.
“Homecoming is fun and it’s one of the better attended weekends of the year. For me, I’ll be working with the ESPN+ crew during games so my experience will be a little different, but I still look forward to the entire day,” Covil said.
Whether you’re a big sports fan or not, it’s important for students to go to games when we can to support the hard work our athletes put into their craft.
“It’s a huge part of who we are as a university and there’s so much work that goes into it all,” Covil said. “They deserve the support. Plus, it’s a great way to meet people who go to school with you and most all of our teams are championship caliber and compete as the best in the Big South.”
Photo courtesy of Winthrop Athletics
