The Winthrop men’s soccer team soared to victory last Tuesday at Eagle Field, beating Mercer University with a final score of 3-1.
This game marks the first one Winthrop has won at home for the 2021 soccer season.
Winthrop played as a very cohesive team during the first 40-minute period, managing to keep Mercer from scoring the entire period with a save by goalkeeper Sam Jones.
In the first 10 minutes of the game, Winthrop midfielder Bryant Jimenez-Pearce scored a penalty kick on Mercer’s goalie, Trevor McMullen. This penalty kick came after midfielder Suhong Jung was fouled inside the defensive box.
Twenty-five minutes in, Winthrop forward Ethan Stevenson scored a goal with an assist from fellow forward Brigham Larsen.
The only mishap for Winthrop came when defender Bryan Marshall received a yellow card six minutes into the first period of the game. Mercer’s Kevin Kim also received a yellow card 34 minutes into the game.
“The second half of the game was maybe a little bit, not as tight as we want it to be,” head coach Daniel Ridenhour said.
Mercer was able to score a goal 75 minutes into the game, with Kim scoring and receiving an assist from Baba Agbaje. However, Winthrop goalkeeper Jones did make two more saves during the second half.
Winthrop’s Larsen managed to score a third goal for Winthrop at the 72–minute mark with an assist from Stevenson.
By the end of the game, Winthrop had three saves compared to Mercer’s two. The Eagles also amassed 16 fouls throughout the game, while Mercer received 13 total fouls.
Winthrop attempted to score 11 total times while Mercer tried to score 13 total times. Two of those shots for Winthrop were offsides, while none of Mercer’s shots were called offsides.
The players were very pleased with the results of the game.
“It’s really great to come out here and get a win with the boys. We’ve been working really hard this season and now we go to play a conference game next. So, we’re going after it,” said freshman midfielder William Cardona.
Fellow teammate sophomore midfielder Jimenez-Pearce concurred.
“It was an incredible night. This match, everyone was so focused on the game and just kept going,” he said.
Ridenhour echoed those sentiments.
“I thought the performance was great. Everyone stepped up. I’m happy for this group of young men. They’ve worked really hard and are a great group,” Ridenhour said.
The men’s soccer team’s next game is Wednesday against Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. The next home game will be Saturday at 5 p.m. when the team will take on fellow conference member Presbyterian College.
Winthrop is now 4-3 overall and 1-0 in conference play since defeating UNC Asheville 4-0 this past Saturday.
