ROCK HILL, S.C. – It's been 196 minutes of scoreless play for whoever has lined up against the Presbyterian College women's soccer team, flexing their defensive muscles on Monday night across their second straight victory in Big South Conference play. A quick score in the 11^th minute was all that PC needed to grasp a 1-0 road W against Winthrop.

Conceding zero goals on only nine shots combined in their past two matchups, the Blue Hose have hit a major stride on their back line as they prevented the Eagles from ever seeing the back of the net in what ended up being their third shutout of the campaign.

After sophomore Sloan Spees produced her second career multi-goal performance last Wednesday versus Gardner-Webb, the reigning Big South co-Offensive Player of the Week kept sizzling with her third strike in the past five days to account for the night's lone goal.

From there, it was up to keeper Kelly Hall and the rest of the PC defense to ensure that a tie wasn't in the cards. They more than held up their end of the bargain, surrendering a mere five shots to Winthrop over the entirety of the contest.

Gathering back-to-back W's in divisional play, the Blue Hose have joined four other conference schools with a Big South win count of two at this stage of the season. Only the top four in the final standings will earn a ticket to the postseason, with three more duels on deck for head coach Brian Purcell's roster.
 
FINAL SCORE: Presbyterian, 1 – Winthrop, 0
RECORDS: Presbyterian (3-9-1, 2-3) – Winthrop (3-5-2, 0-3-1)
LOCATION: Eagle Field (Rock Hill, S.C.)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
- Following the same format to the G-W triumph less than a week ago, Spees' early killshot was assisted by Lina-Marie Müller (her fifth helper of the semester). The sophomore tandem found the perfect seam to get one past Winthrop goalie Izzy Giarrizzi, and it would be enough to grab the win thanks to superb D the rest of the way.

- Coach Purcell's club posted nine more targets than their Palmetto rivals after ending at plus-15 in the same category versus Gardner-Webb, with a relentless attack constantly putting pressure on the Eagles to respond.

- Said response was never solidified from the home unit, partially thanks to a quartet of stoppages by Hall and a starting defense of Hannah Austin, Ella Williams, Lyla Chadd, and Madison Hindman that was practically impenetrable.

- Each of the last three affairs between PC and Winthrop has been decided by a sole kick, as the Blue Hose obtained their fourth all-time victory in the series that dates back to 2007.

- Purcell checked in 21 players during the conference win as nine different jerseys tallied at least one attempt toward the box. Averaging 10 shots per game since August, Presbyterian has racked up 33 in their last two encounters.

- Spees continued the overarching theme that has surrounded the squad, in that a win has been cemented on each day where the all-leaguer has added to the scoreboard.

- All of Presby's wins in 2023 have occurred via shutout, throwing more fuel on a midseason turnaround with even closer sights on the conference tournament in three weeks.
 
UP NEXT
 
- Purcell and co. will enjoy a pivotal rest until their next entry to the field, with two out of three dates to close the regular season from the comfort of their home site. They'll host Charleston Southern in nine days' time for another ESPN+ feature at Martin Stadium.

- CSU, another Big South group with two conference wins to their name at this point, boasts a 7-3-3 record going into this weekend's matchup at High Point. PC has defeated the Buccaneers thrice in the past seven tries, although the previous pair has gone in Charleston Southern's direction by 2-0 and 1-0 clips.

- First touch for another in-state series is marked for 7:00 on October 18.