CHARLESTON, SC – The Winthrop women’s soccer team suffered a 1-0 defeat to the College of Charleston Cougars on Sunday afternoon at Patriots Point.

The Eagles fall to 1-2 on the season, while the Cougars improve to 2-1 overall.

“I thought we played well at times today,” said head coach Spencer Smith. “We battled and competed, and the overall effort was good. There were a couple of times we were able to break them down in the attack and create some opportunities. We still have some work to do certainly to get to where we want to. Overall, I thought the effort was much improved from the last match.”

College of Charleston struck first in the fourth minute to go ahead 1-0 over Winthrop on Maryam Buazza’s first goal of the season. The Cougars were awarded a throw in on the near side, and McCallie Jones cut a cartwheel flip during her throw and put the ball into the six-yard box. Buazza was able to put her shot past Eagle goalkeeper Sarah Schippers within a crowd of players.

Krystyna Freda and Courtney Durbin provided Winthrop with two scoring chances in the first stanza. Durbin’s opportunity came in the 10^th minute when Krystyna Freda beat a College of Charleston defender on the far side and made a pass to Durbin at the far post, where her sliding shot was blocked by Cougar goalkeeper Cricket Wise. In the 35^th minute Freda’s shot at the top of the 18-yard box missed just right of the net.

College of Charleston outshot the Eagles 9-6 in the first half and 5-2 in attempts on-net. The Cougars also led in corner kicks 4-2.

Freda attempted a team-best four shots for Winthrop in the opening half, while Schippers snagged four saves. Hope Atkinson had three shots for College of Charleston and Wise grabbed two saves.

The Eagles came out in the second half and posted two more scoring chances early by Ariel Kunde. In the 53^rd minute she received the ball on a back-heel pass by Durbin inside the 18-yard box. Kunde dribbled the ball a few yards, but her shot was saved by Wise. Her attempt in the 57^th minute came on a free kick by Okina Crawley from 30 yards out. Crawley placed the ball over the Cougar defense right to a wide-open Kunde, where her header bounced right to Wise.

Durbin also had a chance to tie the contest in the 76^th minute on a through ball by Kylene Babauta. Durbin caught up with the ball, but Wise came out to the top of the box and deflected the ball just before Durbin could take a shot.

College of Charleston outshot Winthrop in the contest 21-12 and held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks. Freda led the Eagles offensively on the afternoon with five shots, and Schippers had a career-high nine saves. Atkinson took five shots for the Cougars and Wise finished with six saves.

Winthrop will be back in action on Sunday, Sept. 4 when it travels to Florence, SC to face the Francis Marion Patriots at 4 p.m.

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