Playing their third game in the last five days, the High Point women's soccer team rallied with a late goal in the second half to earn a 1-1 tie with Longwood University on Monday night at Albion Millis Stadium.
The tie puts the Panthers record at 8-5-1 on the season while the Lancers move to 3-8-1 overall. It was the first draw of the year for HPU and only their second overtime contest this season.
Longwood's Aynsley Birkner got her squad on the board first after sailing a ball from nearly 30 yards out just under the crossbar and over the outstretched arm of High Point keeper Erica Brockmyer in the 24th minute. That would be the only action in the opening half as both teams played tough defense.
"We got a slow start but I think that part of that was from playing our third game in five days," said HPU head coach Michelle Rayner. "I was proud of how we raised our level of play in the second half and overtime. I thought we played with a purpose down the stretch and were rewarded with some solid scoring chances. It was a tough battle against a solid team. It will be nice to get a few days rest before we play the final matches of the regular season."
The Panthers turned the pressure up on offense in the second frame as HPU saw several scoring opportunities rattle off the post, miss by inches or get snatched up by LU keeper Anne Whitmore. In the 72nd minute, sophomore Karolina Straby finally got a ball into the net for High Point when she gathered a rebound off a shot by Leslie Long just in front of the box and beat Whitmore on the right side.
In overtime, High Point kept up its aggressive play as evidenced by the 5-1 edge in shots during the extra frames, but could not get the golden goal as the game ended in a tie. Both keepers recorded a save in bonus time.
For the game, HPU posted a 19-7 advantage in shots including an 8-2 lead in shots on goal. Both squads also finished with nine corner kick attempts. Brockmyer tallied a single save while Whitmore finished the game with seven stops on the night.
High Point will now enjoy a few days off before returning to competition at Charleston Southern on Monday, Oct. 24. The game was originally slated for Oct. 8, but was rescheduled due to heavy rains in Charleston at that time. After CSU, the Panthers will conclude their regular season schedule with home matches against UNC Asheville (Oct. 26) and Birmingham-Southern (Oct. 29).
