Box Score | Box Score (PDF)

• High Point opened conference play with a 0-0 draw against Gardner-Webb.
• The Panthers had a 30-5 edge in shots and a 13-1 advantage in shots on goal.
• Freshmen Alex Persiani and Jordan Beets combined for their fourth shutout of the season.

HIGH POINT, N.C. - The High Point University women's soccer team played Gardner-Webb to a 0-0 draw in its Big South Conference opener on Saturday afternoon at Vert Stadium. The Panthers finished the contest with a 30-5 edge in shots.

"I am very proud of the way the girls played today," head coach Marty Beall said. "We dominated every part of the game except for the most important one, which is the scoreboard. We created numerous chances that we should have put away but we didn't so we walk away with a draw."

 High Point outshot Gardner-Webb by a 10-1 margin in the first half and a 16-3 margin in the second half but was unable to find a goal. 13 of the Panthers' 30 shots were on frame compared to just one by the Runnin' Bulldogs.

Six different HPU players put up four shots in the tie, led by sophomore Jenny Marshall who had five with two on goal. Junior Becca Lisson had four shots all on goal.

HPU nearly took the lead in the final minute of the first half when senior Sarah Sermonet caught the GWU keeper off her line with a header but the ball hit off the crossbar in the closing seconds of the opening period.

In the second half, High Point nearly scored off a corner kick when a header by Lisson was saved off the line by a Gardner-Webb defender and a follow-up by Marshall was snared by the GWU keeper.

Lisson nearly scored again in the first overtime period when she was freed up behind the defense on a pass by senior Jacky Kessler, but her shot went into the keeper's gut for the save.

Freshmen Alex Persiani and Jordan Beets combined for their fourth shutout of the season. Beets made the lone save of the game while playing the second half and overtime and earned the draw to improve to 3-1-2. Krista Chauvin made 12 saves for GWU to improve to 4-3-1.

High Point moves to 3-2-3 overall on the season and starts Big South play with a 0-0-1 record. Gardner-Webb is now 4-5-1 with a 1-0-1 record in conference.

High Point hits the road next to take on Winthrop in Rock Hill, South Carolina on Wednesday, Oct. 1. The game is set to kick off at 6 p.m.

#GoHPU