• High Point University women's soccer falls on the wrong side of a 3-1 decision against VCU, as freshman Skyler Prillaman collects her second goal of 2018
• Prillaman registered her side's lone shot on goal against the Rams, recording two attempts on the night
• Of HPU's six shots on the night, three of those attempts came from midfielders or defenders, with Ashlyn Kearney, Maggie Gruber, Becca Palmer and Brooke Parsons all getting their first of the season

HIGH POINT, N.C. -- After trading shots in the first half, High Point University women's soccer took a final loss of 3-1 this Friday, falling to hosts Virginia Commonwealth.

The Rams got started early against the Panthers, but thanks to some supreme goaltending from senior goalkeeper Emily Lyon, HPU was able to keep things close in the opening minutes. VCU drew a penalty kick in the fifth, after getting tripped up on a back door run, but Lyon would be up to task denying PK-taker, Cici Fox and keep things even at 0-0. The home side would find opportunity just a few minutes later however, scoring on a corner kick in the seventh minute.  

High Point would not take long to respond, putting pressure on the following 15 minutes, eventually leading to Skyler Prillaman's second goal of 2018 in the 21st minute. Prillaman now has two of her team's five goals this season, and leads her squad with six shots this year.

"We took huge strides as a team tonight," said Head Coach Brandi Fontaine after the match."I'm very happy that the players took things we focused on this week in training and were extremely disciplined against a very good VCU team."

With things knotted at one apiece, the first half looked destined to stay tied going into the break, before a deflected cross in the 37th found the head of a Ram's forward, for VCU's second tally of the night. 

Things slowed down for the Panthers in the second half, as VCU upped their offensive pressure, eventually scoring an insurance goal with just over 40 minutes remaining. High Point was unable to slim down their opponents' lead in the latter third of the match, as the visiting side was forced to take a 3-1 loss Friday evening.

COMING UP NEXT
The Panthers continue their Virginia tour with a trip to Blacksburg, facing off with Virginia Tech on Sunday at 5 p.m. 

#GoHPU