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The High Point University men's soccer kicks off its conference season with a game against Gardner-Webb at Vert Track and Soccer Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m. High Point is 3-2-1 this season and has wins over Elon, Rider and Georgia Southern.

The Panthers are coming off a 2-1 loss at No. 23 William & Mary on Saturday, Sept. 18. Junior Karo Okiomah converted a penalty kick for his third goal of the season.

Trailing by two goals, HPU got on the board in the 77th minute when Okiomah converted a penalty kick to pull High Point to within one. Sophomore Fejiro Okiomah corralled the ball at the half line and beat two defenders before carrying the ball into the box where he was taken down from behind, drawing the penalty. Karo Okiomah stepped to the ball and beat the keeper with a low shot to the left, it was his second PK goal of the season.

The Panthers continued to look for the equalizer earning two corner kicks in the final five minutes but were unable to find a second goal as the game ended with The Tribe still leading, 2-1.

The first half was an even contest between the two squads as William & Mary carried the possession but High Point earned several dangerous chances on counters. The Panthers best chance of the half came in the 13th minute when sophomore Shane Malcolm beat his defender on the right flank and crossed into the box to sophomore Shawn Sloan. Sloan made good contact but the shot ran just outside the left post.

Gardner-Webb is 2-5-0 with wins over Mercer and USC Upstate. Two freshmen lead GWU in goals scored with Nicolas Wrobel notching a team-best three goals and six points while Chris Davis is second on the squad with two goals. Adam Garcia has stepped into the starting goalkeeper role for the Bulldogs this season and has posted a 2-5-0 record with a 1.56 goals-against average and a .694 save percentage.

The Panthers have compiled a 4-0-2 record in games against Gardner-Webb, including a 5-0 win over the Bulldogs last season in Boiling Springs, N.C. Senior Scott Rojo, sophomores Fejiro Okiomah, Shane Malcolm, Shawn Sloan and then-senior Matt Tuttle all scored for HPU in the win.