HIGH POINT, N.C.— High Point University men's soccer will try to remain perfect this weekend, trying for its fifth straight win of the year, in a home opener against Elon this Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Panthers last time out saw the squad go down by a pair of goals in the opening half of a contest at UNCG, before exploding for a trio of tallies in the latter 45 minutes of a 3-2 victory. HPU is yet to lose a match this season, after putting away Wofford, Davidson, ETSU and the Spartans on the road. High Point's matchup with the Phoenix will be its first of the year back home at the Vert, where Head Coach EJ O'Keeffe's side held a 5-2-2 record the previous campaign.

Elon set a new program record in goals scored this past Sunday, in an 8-1 victory over power-five opponent Rutgers. The Phoenix split its previous two matches against Vermont and FIU, falling to the Catamounts 2-0 in their season opener. 
 
High Point (4-0-0) vs Elon (2-1-0)
When: Saturday, September 8, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: High Point, N.C. | Vert Stadium
All-Time Series: High Point leads 28-12-12 | Match Notes
Last Meeting: Loss 3-0, on Sept. 8, 2017 in Elon, N.C.
Watch Live: ESPN+
Live Stats: SideArm
Promotions: Come support your Panthers by wearing white at this year's 'White Out' home opener against Elon

The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, the new exclusive streaming home of Big South Network live-event productions. Most of High Point's home games will air on ESPN+, the first-ever multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from ESPN. ESPN+ offers fans thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming. 
 
Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month or $49.99 per year. Click here to sign-up for ESPN+.
 
On the Panthers
• Three Panthers have already earned Big South weekly honors this year; Siggi Benonysson - Attacking Player of the Week (Aug. 27), Ilias Kosmidis - Attacking Player of the Week (Sept. 4) and Tony Pineda - Freshman of the Week (Sept. 4)
• Four of the Big South's top-four point producers play for High Point, with Pineda and Kosmidis tied for a league-high seven
• Bana Ganidekam scored a brace in HPU's comeback win over UNCG on Tuesday, with three goals on just four shots (.750) he is the 11th-most accurate shooter in Division I men's soccer this season
• The Panthers are one of just 19 undefeated teams in D-I currently, while their 2.50 goals per game average sit 17th in the NCAA
• After tallying a pair of assists against ETSU and another at UNCG, Benonysson has already tied the personal season-high he set as a freshman (4)
• HPU has opened the 2018 season on a four-game win streak, their best start since 2012, when the Panthers won their first nine matches of the regular season
 
On the Phoenix
• After defeating Big 10 opponent Rutgers 8-1 on the road, the Phoenix' 3.67 goals per game currently rank first in Division I
• Junior forward Inigo Bronte leads Elon with three goals and seven points on the year, all of which he recorded against Rutgers last week
• Excluding their game against the Scarlet Knights, the Phoenix are outscoring opponents just 3-2, after getting shutout by Vermont to open the 2018 season
• Senior goalkeeper Matthew Jegier has started all three games for Elon this year, but currently holds just a .571 save percentage
 
Series Notes:
• HPU is 28-12-12 against Elon, losing its most recent contest with the Phoenix 3-0
• The Panthers have not earned a winning decision against the Phoenix since 2012, but are 2-1-1 when playing Elon in High Point over the past decade
• High Point is 35-23-13 against current CAA members all-time, with 28 of those wins coming against the Phoenix and five of them coming against UNCW
 
Coming Up Next:
• The Panthers face their first power-five opponent of the season, traveling to Penn State for a 7 p.m. kickoff this Tuesday
• HPU has never played the Nittany Lions before, nor any other program currently in the Big 10

#GoHPU