LIVE STATSHIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men's soccer team will play its first Big South Conference game of the season on Sunday, Sept. 26, when the team travels to Asheville, N.C., to take on UNC Asheville at 4 p.m.
High Point improved to 2-3-2 on the season with a 1-0 overtime win against UNC Greensboro on Wednesday. Junior
Renato Punyed scored the game-winning goal in the 99th minute, breaking the 0-0 deadlock with a tap in off a rebound. Redshirt-senior
Kody Palmer made seven saves to record his third shutout of the season.
Punyed leads HPU with three points on the season and is one of four players to score a goal for the Panthers in 2015. Sophomore
Avery Ryan, redshirt-freshman
Justen Shear and freshman
Ben Hietala join him with a goal each this season. HPU's defense has been stout all season, allowing just six goals in seven games and posting three shutouts. Palmer has played every minute in goal and has a 0.77 goals-against average with a .854 save percentage.
UNC Asheville is 3-2-1 in 2015 and coming off a 1-0 win over VMI last weekend. Cy Gourlay scored the game-winning goal in the 88th minute for the Bulldogs. Asheville also holds wins over LIU Brooklyn and USC Upstate.
Zach Joens has spearheaded the UNC Asheville attack this season, scoring three of the Bulldogs' six goals on the season for a team-best six points. Ben Chapel is second on the team with three points and a goal and an assist. Zak Davis has appeared in all six games at keeper for the Bulldogs and has a 1.48 goals-against average with two shutouts.
High Point leads the all-time series against UNC Asheville with an 18-6-2 record in 26 meetings. Last season, High Point earned 3-0 win over the Bulldogs at Vert Stadium with goals by Punyed, Ryan and
Mamadee Nyepon.
#GoHPU
