BOX SCORE

The High Point University women's soccer team closed out the regular season with a 1-0 loss on the road at Presbyterian College on Saturday night in Clinton, S.C.

“We got outworked in the first half,” head coach Marty Beall said. “We only showed up in the second half. That is unacceptable and not good enough to win. We need to get back to work now and prepare for the Big South tournament.”

With the loss, HPU finishes the regular season with an 8-9-3 overall record and a 6-2-2 record in the Big South. Presbyterian concludes its 2011 season with a 4-13-2 record and a 2-6-2 record in Big South play.

The Blue Hose took control of the match early, disrupting High Point's possession offense and creating several dangerous scoring chances.

In the 19th minute, PC had two good chances but was denied by two stellar saves by senior Andrea Ritchie. Gracie Boswell hit a hard shot that forced a diving save by the HPU keeper then on a corner kick Kelly Kozera headed the ball to the left post where Ritchie again made the save.

The Blue Hose managed to break through for a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute when Sara Simpson sent a shot off the post then immediately corralled the rebound and put it in an open net for the eventual game winner. The goal by Simpson was the first against the Panthers since Oct. 10 and snapped a 538 minute scoreless streak for HPU.

Presbyterian finished the first half with a 9-4 edge in shots and put five shots on goal to none for the Panthers.

Following halftime, HPU took control of the run of play possessing the ball almost entirely in Blue Hose's half of the field.

The Panthers' two best chances of the game came in a 35-second span in the 65th minute as senior Katie Taber and sophomore Becca Hemby each had a quality scoring chance turned away by the Presbyterian College defense.

Taber managed to find space at the top of the 18 and hit a hard shot towards the top left corner that was stopped with a diving save by PC keeper Sarah Beth Anderson. On the resulting corner, Hemby hit a header towards the left post that was saved off the line by a Presbyterian defender.

HPU finished the game with an 18-11 advantage of shots after outshooting the Blue Hose 14-2 in the second half and putting 10 shots on goal. Ritchie took the loss for High Point despite making six saves in the game.

High Point will enter next week's Big South tournament as the No. 4 seed and will play Liberty in the first game of the day at 11:30 a.m., at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C., the home park of the Charleston Battery a profeeisona soccer club in the USL.  The Panthers notched a 1-0 win over Liberty earlier this season on a penalty kick goal by sophomore Kelli Joline.