South Medford Panther’s Junior Whitney Winans had herself quite the Tuesday evening, recording a hat trick against her conference foe the Willamette Wolverines. All three goals for Winans came in the first half and was enough to earn the Panthers the 3-1 victory. “It Felt great to contribute however I could to help my team win. Also, it’s always fun to score goals,” was Whitney’s humble response when asked about the hat trick.
Winans is no stranger to scoring, having recorded a hat trick for her club team in the quarter finals of the State Cup last April. She’s also led her Panthers, with six goals and two assists, to a second place seeding in the Southwest Conference and a 4-2-2 overall record and a 3-1-2 league record.
Whitney and South Medford have some big plans for this season, “Our goal for the end of the season is to finish first in conference and to go further in the state playoff than we have the last couple years,” according to Winans. Currently, South is second to South Eugene, who is 6-0 in SWC play.
The junior midfielder has been playing soccer since the age of five and starting for the Panthers’ varsity squad since her freshmen year. Her love for the game of soccer is a big reason for her success, “My love for the game is continuing to grow. I enjoy working at it and seeing the hard work contribute to my ability to be effective in games. I have been very blessed to have great coaches and have created many strong friendships from the game. I plan to continue to play in college.”
It’s evident, Whitney has some strong passion for this game. Her role model on the field might have something to do with that, “My role model on the field is Abby Wambach because she is very impressive in the air and always played with a big heart for the game.”
Off the field, Whitney credits here success to her two older brothers Mark and Will Winans, who both were basketball standouts at South Medford, “My role models off the field are my two older brothers. They taught me that if I want to accomplish my dream I have to to go work harder than anyone else. In addition to being great role models, they are also my two best friends.”
The soccer standout is very family oriented and says that when she’s not playing soccer or in school she is just hanging out with her family, enjoying hike and various outdoor activities.
Stay tuned for more Athletes to come each week!
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