WHEN: Friday, April 13 | 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Vert Stadium | High Point, N.C.
RECORDS: High Point (3-7, 3-1), VMI (2-7, 0-4)
SERIES RECORD: High Point leads 4-0
LAST MEETING: High Point won 11-5 on March 17, 2017
VIDEO: Big South Network
LIVE STATS: HighPointPanthers.Com
GAME NOTES: HighPointPanthers.Com
 
 
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men's lacrosse team hosts VMI on Friday night in Vert Stadium as HPU goes for its third straight Southern Conference victory.
 
The Panthers (3-7, 3-1) have ended undefeated SoCon records with back-to-back victories over Jacksonville (11-9) and Furman (15-7). Meanwhile, the Keydets (2-7, 0-4) are coming off a 15-7 setback at Mercer on Saturday.
 
Quick Hitters
• Sophomore Davis Sampere was named Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week on April 10. He earned the award posting 12 ground balls, two goals, one assists and went 16-of-23 at the face-off 'X.'
 
• Freshman Asher Nolting leads the SoCon in points (4.70) and assists (2.50) per game. In both categories, the Greenwood Village, Colo. native is on pace to smash the single-season HPU and Southern Conference records.
 
• Entering the weekend with 22 goals and 25 goals, Nolting already has the eighth 20/20 season in SoCon history and is on pace to record the first 30/30 campaign in High Point and SoCon history.
 
• Senior Connor Robinson is averaging a SoCon-leading 2.80 goals per game, which is tied with Dan Lomas' SoCon and HPU single-season record.
 
• Robinson is two goals away from becoming the third Panther to record 30 goals in a season joining Lomas (four times) and Matt Thistle (twice).
 
• During conference play, junior Tim Troutner Jr. has the second-highest save percentage in the league stopping 52 of the 80 shots he's faced in the team's four SoCon outings.
 
• The Panthers rank eighth in the nation in saves per game (12.30) behind the efforts of Troutner and senior Zach Tuell.
• High Point has scored at least 11 goals in eight straight contests, which is the longest stretch of consecutive double-digit scoring games in program history.
 
• Due to that hot streak, the Panthers are posting their highest single-season goals per game average (11.20).
 
• Senior Peyton Garrett is coming off his first career hat trick becoming the fourth Panther to record a hat trick this year.
 
• Behind Garrett's outing, the midfield tallied eight of the team's 15 goals at Furman. Combined with the Jacksonville outing, the midfield has scored 16 of High Point's 26 tallies in the last two games. Through the first eight games, the attackmen accounted for 67 percent of the team's goals.
 
• After holding Furman scoreless in five EMOs, the Panthers' defense has allowed just three goals in 15 man-down situations during league play.
 
• During non-conference play, HPU was outscored 33-15 in the first quarter but through four SoCon games, the Panthers have posted two first-quarter shutouts.
 
• The Panthers have climbed to 13th in the nation in ground balls per game behind Sampere's 6.40 per outing.
 
Streaking Into the Record Book
• Nolting has scored at least three points in 10 consecutive games to begin his career. His current streak is the longest in HPU history.
 
• Nolting is one of four players nationally to score at least three points in every appearance this season. Yale's Ben Reeves, Hartford's Griffin Feiner and Canisius' Connor Kearnan are the other three to accomplish the feat.
 
• Robinson has scored at least one goal in 15 consecutive games dating back to April 1, 2017 at Mercer, which is tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the nation. The longest run in program history is Dan Lomas' 23-game stretch with at least one goal.
 
Minding the Net, Plus a Little More
• Tim Troutner Jr. is second among active players nationally with 11.67 saves per game in his career.
 
• The Annapolis, Maryland native is third in HPU's history in caused turnovers (39) and ranks sixth with 107 ground balls. Meanwhile, the athletic keeper has taken nine shots with two on goal in his career.
 
SoCon Tournament Outlook
The Panthers, who were picked to finish fifth in the preseason, are in a good spot to make the league's four-team tournament currently sitting four-way tie atop the SoCon standings. Also entering the weekend at 3-1, Richmond, Jacksonville and Furman are tied for first and are in position to earn a spot in the May 3 semifinals. However, Mercer and Air Force, both of which are still yet to play HPU, are just a game back at 2-2.
 
Players of the Week
With Sampere's selection as the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week, High Point has had a player earn one of the league's weekly awards in each of the last four weeks. Robinson started the stretch with back-to-back Offensive Player of the Week honors before Terrell Sands notched a Defensive Player of the Week award.
 
• Along with the weekly award winners, Nolting is the reigning SoCon Offensive Player of the Month for March. He recorded 22 points in the team's four games.
 
All-Time Series with VMI
The Panthers lead the all-time series with the Keydets by a 4-0 margin. In those four victories, High Point is winning by an average of 8.5 goals per matchup.
 
Last Time They Met
The Purple & White went on the road to pick up an 11-5 victory in Lexington, Va. last spring. Robinson and Young tallied two goals apiece while Troutner racked up 11 saves, six ground balls and a caused turnover in the win.
 
All-Time Mark Against the SoCon
High Point is 18-11 all-time in conference play between the Atlantic Sun and Southern Conference. In league home games, HPU has posted a 10-5 mark.
 
Next Up
The Purple & White wrap up their road slate on Saturday, April 21 at Air Force with a 1:00 p.m. opening face-off.
 
#GoHPU