The High Point University men's soccer team fell to Wofford, 1-0, Sunday evening in non-conference men's soccer action at Snyder Field in Spartanburg, S.C.
The Terriers' Yakov Rubinchik scored the game's only goal at 52:24. Following a free kick by teammate Armin Kinigadner, which found the head of a streaking Nick Schuermann only to hit the back post, High Point (0-3-1) attempted to clear the ball out of its own penalty box. The clear, however, was intercepted by Rubinchik, who then proceeded to fire it back into the left side of the net.
The Terriers had numerous other chances to put more points on the board in what resulted in a 14-8 shot advantage. Kinigadner had the game's first chance when he sent a shot just wide six minutes in, while Kyle Walker sailed an attempt just high over the left corner with 2:10 remaining before halftime.
In the second half, junior Phil Beene also sent a shot wide at 41:30, while freshman Kentrel Owens was stopped point-blank by Panther goalkeeper Adam Ross seven-and-a-half minutes into the second period.
High Point, however, had a few chances itself, including a Josh Windley shot off the crossbar after he eluded the Wofford defense with just over 20 minutes to play in the opening stanza. He also sent a header high with 11:30 passed in the second half before Matt Tuttle placed a free kick just high from 25 yards out later in the session.
The Panthers continued their offensive attack and pushed for another opportunity to score late, but the Terrier defense stood firm and preserved the shutout.
Wofford was led by two shots each from Schuermann, Beene, Kinigadner, Owens and sophomore Moe Kelli. Tuttle paced High Point with three shots off the bench.
Wofford goalkeeper Joey Taylor remained unscored upon in 2007 by pitching his third-straight shutout to start the season. He collected three saves against the Panthers to set a school single-season Division I era (1995-present) record for shutouts. His three blankings on the campaign are the most by a Wofford (2-0-1) goalie since Will King also had three during the 1993 season.
HPU will be back in action on September 12 in Boone, N.C. when the team faces Appalachian State at 4:30 p.m.
