The Lady Bucs saw their Big South record drop to an even 1-1 Wednesday as they fell 2-0 at Winthrop, last season's regular season champions.

In many ways, the game represented a reversal of how things have gone for the Bucs on the season. Typically, it is Eric Terrill's squad that jumps on its opponent and scores the game's first goal in the early moments of a game, as evidenced by goals in the first five minutes of action against Newberry, Appalachian State and Wofford. Yet, on this night, it would be the Lady Bucs who would feel the pain of allowing a very early goal.

At the 1:02 mark, Winthrop's Chelsea White crossed to fellow Lady Eagle Jessica Hausfield, who slotted past Buc goalkeeper Jena Uvalle (Mt. Dora, Fla.) to give the team a nearly instantaneous 1-0 lead. The goal tied Hausfield for Winthrop's all-time career lead in goals, and tied White for Winthrop's all-time career lead in assists, while also setting a new mark for the Lady Eagles: the quickest goal in their program's history.

The goal could have dispirited the team after a lengthy trip up Interstates 26 and 77. But the young Bucs responded with eager resolve in hopes of achieving an equalizer, forcing the remaining 43 minutes of the first half to be played largely on the Winthrop end of the field.

Six different Bucs fired shots towards the net as part of this onslaught, with recent offensive starlet Jen Vroman (Piscataway, N.J.) forcing a save from preseason Big South player of the year Dimitra Poulous, and Sarah Catenacci (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.), Caitlin Gunyan (Rockville Center, N.Y.), Marky Boyce (Woodbridge, Va.), Michelle Dennis (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Emma Mattsson (Helsingborg, Sweden) all sending efforts wide of the Eagle net. A 6-2 advantage in shots and 2-1 advantage in corner kicks for the Bucs were a result of this fierce attack, but the finishing touch that has been so present for the Bucs all year also eluded them in this half, leaving CSU unlucky to find itself trailing 1-0 at the interval.

In the second half, the Bucs tried several different offensive options in hopes of finding a way past Poulos. One of the more promising attacks came as a result of the efforts of Jessica Kim (Austin, Tex.), who came up from defense to force Poulos into a save in the 58th, and Rose Marie Senise (Staten Island, N.Y.), who fired an effort wide in the 60th. On the other end, Uvalle kept Winthrop at bay, highlighted by a save on Ashley Bader in the 54th.

Unfortunately, the Buc attack would begin to lose steam as the second half progressed. Winthrop earned a succession of corner kicks in less than a minute, and in the 81st minute they would find the net for the second and final time on the game. Erin Foote's corner met the head of White, who capped a multi-point day by finishing past Uvalle.

Both teams probed the opposing defenses several more times in the dying moments, but Uvalle denied WU's Ashley Hallmon and Hausfield late on and Boyce couldn't sneak the ball past Poulos in the final minute, ensuring a final scoreline of Winthrop 2, Charleston Southern 0.

One of the benefits of midseason is that redemption is right around the corner, and the Bucs will have a chance to return to winning ways no sooner than Saturday, when they host another Big South rival, High Point, at 11 A.M. at Buccaneer Field as part of the weekend's homecoming festivities.