BOX SCORE

The High Point University women's soccer team dropped a 4-0 decision to UNC Greensboro Thursday night in Greensboro, N.C. HPU managed five shots in the game with sophomore Laura Shupe (Cary, N.C./Green Hope) notching the only shot on frame.

“I thought we played hard and competed really well, especially in the first half,” said head coach Marty Beall. “I think the difference in the game was Greensboro came out in the second half with more urgency and fire. I thought we dealt with their pressure fairly well at times and I thought we did some good stuff possession wise. The key is to continue to learn from these games against top-level teams such as Greensboro and to move forward day to day.

Much of the game was played in the Panthers' defensive third of the field as the Spartans controlled the run of play, outshooting High Point 16-5. Senior Marisa Abbott (Troy, N.Y./Tamarac) and sophomore Andrea Ritchie (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) combined to stop six shots in the loss.

UNCG jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute with a goal by Tabitha Padgett. Padgett received a ball on the left side at the top of the box and lofted a shot over Abbott to the upper right 90 of the goal.
Up 1-0 entering the second half, the Spartans scored three second-half goals to bring the final tally to 4-0. Laura Hines scored two goals early in the second half, scoring her first in the 49th minute on a header off a cross and her second just six minutes later on a strike from 35-yards out. Nicole Danforth picked up the final goal in the 79th minute with a three-yard shot on net.

Abbott's three first-half saves give her 56 on the year, moving her into fourth in the High Point Division I record book for saves in a season.

The Panthers return to the pitch on Saturday at 7 p.m. when they travel to Buies Creek, N.C. to face Campbell University.