The High Point University men's soccer team will play for its fifth Big South Championship in six seasons in Buies Creek on Saturday night. The Panthers are set to battle with No. 1-seed Campbell after defeating No. 3-seed USC Upstate, 3-1, in the semifinals on Sunday.
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#2 High Point at #1 Campbell
Saturday, November 12th | 7:30 PM
Eakes Athletic Complex| Buies Creek, N.C.
Watch | Live Stats | Bracket | Tournament Information
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2022 Big South Tournament
The Big South Conference announced tournament pairings on Wednesday night at the conclusion of league contests. High Point earned the No. 2 seed behind No. 1-seed Campbell. The Panthers and the Camels each hosted their respective semifinals against No. 3-seed USC Upstate and No. 4-seed Presbyterian last Sunday.
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Last Time Out
High Point downed USC Upstate in the Big South semifinal round last Sunday evening in High Point. The Panthers used three first-half goals to pull out the win.
Noah Holmes,
Jefferson Amaya, and
Ashton Perkins each had goals while
Holland Rula,
Finn McRobb, and
Brendan Krueger were credited with assists.
Holden Trent made four saves in goal for the Panthers, giving up the only goal in the 89
th minute of play despite the Panthers playing a man down for the final 35 minutes of the match.
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High Point in the Big South Tournament
HPU has appeared in four of the last five tournament championship games since the 2017 season. The Panthers claimed its first and only crown in the 2020-21 spring season, capping off an 8-0 regular season Big South run with a 1-0 win over UNC Asheville in the semifinal before earning its first NCAA College Cup berth with a 3-1 win over USC Upstate in the tournament championship. Last season, HPU battled with Campbell in Buies Creek in the championship but ended up falling, 3-2, to end the season.
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High Point vs. Campbell
Earlier in the season, the Panthers and the Camels met in Buies Creek for regular season Big South action. High Point pulled out the 1-0 win after freshman
Jefferson Amaya netted the game-winner in the 86
th minute off a free kick. High Point is 9-13-5 all-time against Campbell and have traded results with the Camels since the 2019 season, despite four of the five games being played in Buies Creek.
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Last Five Matchups with Campbell:
10/12/2022 -- W, 1-0 -- Buies Creek, N.C.
11/14/2021 -- L, 2-3 -- Buies Cree, N.C.
10/30/2021 -- T, 0-0 -- High Point, N.C.
3/13/2021 -- W, 1-0 -- Buies Creek, N.C.
11/17/2019 – L, 1-4 – Buies Creek, N.C.
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About the Camels
After being declared the Big South Regular Season Champion, Campbell defeated No. 4-seed Presbyterian in the semifinals, 5-0. Campbell is 11-3-5 on the season, posting non-conference wins over Incarnate Word, Houston Baptist, Davidson, and UNC Greensboro. Kemy Amiche leads the Camels with nine goals and five assists for 23 total points while Jalen James and Tyler Young have each recorded 19 points. Edu Rodriguez has played the majority of minutes in goal for Campbell, making 35 saves with eight goals against. Head coach Dustin Fonder has recorded a 51-12-11 overall record in eight season with Campbell.
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Panthers, Camels Face Off in Last Battle for Big South Title
As Campbell plays its final season in the Big South, Sunday's match becomes the final competition between High Point and Campbell as conference foes. In four seasons, the Big South Tournament Championship has featured a Panthers/Camels matchup three times. The last time the championship did not feature either High Point or Campbell was in 2016 when Radford and Longwood battled for the crown.
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Dynamic Duo Holds Down Defense
Redshirt senior
Holden Trent and junior
Finn McRobb have only conceded nine goals in their Big South regular season careers. This season, the two led HPU to a 5-0-3 record in Big South play while allowing four goals on 19 shots on goal.
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Kendall Named to National Team of the Week
High Point senior defender
Karson Kendall was featured on Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week after helping the Panthers to a 2-1 victory over No. 7 Maryland before scoring a goal in HPU's 5-0 shutout of Radford.
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Four Panthers Make TDS Midseason Top 100
High Point University men's soccer was one of three programs in NCAA Division I, along with Pittsburgh and Maryland, to have four members recognized on Top Drawer Soccer's Midseason Top 100 List. TDS recognizes the Top 100 sophomores, juniors, and seniors in NCAA Division I on the list. Goalkeeper
Holden Trent notched the highest ranking for HPU, cracking the top-25 at No. 21. The Greensboro native was also the second-highest ranked goalkeeper.
Finn McRobb (64
th),
Kaya Ignacio (77
th), and
Sebastian Chalbaud (85
th) also made the list.
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High Point Boasts Two Freshman on TDS Top 100
Jefferson Amaya and
Brendan Krueger were both recognized on Top Drawer Soccer's Top 100 Freshmen List earlier this week. Amaya, a midfielder from Huntersville, N.C., was ranked No. 124 by TDS in the Class of 2022 prior to the season and No. 44 overall player on the USL 2 Top-50 Prospect list. Appearing in 13 contest and making 10 starts for the Panthers this season, Amaya was ranked No. 7 on TDS' Top-100 Freshmen list with one goal and three assists. Krueger was a captain of Chargers SC in their MLS Next program prior to his time at HPU. The Clearwater, Fla., native has played in 12 matches for the Panthers and started the last nine. He's tallied four assists on the season, two against Radford before adding another at No. 7 Maryland, and was ranked as TDS' Midseason No. 54 Freshman.
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Amaya Recognized on College Soccer News Team of the Week
Freshman
Jefferson Amaya was named to College Soccer News' National Team of the Week on Monday evening (October 17
th). The Panther midfielder scored the game-winning goal at Big South-rival Campbell on Wednesday, October 12
th. Taking a shot off a free kick in the 86
th minute, Amaya successfully evaded the Camel's three-man wall and goalkeeper, putting the ball in the bottom right corner of the net and giving HPU the 1-0 victory.
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Trent Adds Another Defensive Player of the Week Award to Collection
Goalkeeper
Holden Trent was named the Big South Defensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon (October 24
th). It is the fourth time Trent has been named the conference's defensive player of the week this season. Trent notched a shutout against UNC Asheville with one save while tallying three saves in HPU's 2-1 win over No. 7 Maryland last Monday night.
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Trent, Amaya Pick Up Weekly Awards from Big South
Senior goalkeeper
Holden Trent picked up his third Defensive Player of the Week award of the season from the Big South Conference office on Monday afternoon (October 17
th) while freshman midfielder
Jefferson Amaya earned his first Freshman of the Week honor. Trent recorded his fourth shutout of the season and third-straight in regular season play against the Camels at Campbell on Wednesday, October 12
th, while also tallying one save in the 1-0 win. Amaya scored the game-winning goal off of a set piece in the 86
th minute, giving HPU three crucial points in the conference standings.
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Trent Named to TDS Team of the Week
Senior goalkeeper
Holden Trent added another weekly award as he was recognized on Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week (October 4th). Trent posted a shutout at Elon in a 0-0 draw before helping HPU to a 5-1 win over Radford with four saves.
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Holmes Repeats, Trent Joins Player of the Week Honors
Noah Holmes repeated as the Big South's Offensive Player of the Week while
Holden Trent was named the Defensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon (October 3
rd). Holmes recorded his second brace in three matches in a 5-1 win over Radford while Trent made seven saves on the week while posting a shutout in a 0-0 draw with Elon, who was receiving votes in the latest top-25 poll.
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Flurry of Goals Pushes Panthers Past Highlanders
High Point recorded five goals on Saturday night against Radford. Goal scorers for HPU were
Noah Holmes (2),
Karson Kendall,
Larson Rula, and
Sebastian Chalbaud. Kendall, Rula, and Chalbaud recorded their first goals of the season while Kendall and Rula tallied the first of their respective careers. In its three conference games played, HPU has scored 10 total goals. Freshmen
Brendan Krueger and
Aidan Abril were both credited with two assists apiece.
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High Point, Haines Agree to Contract Extension
High Point University Vice President and Athletic Director Dan Hauser has announced a five-year contract extension for men's soccer head coach
Zach Haines on September 30th. Haines has compiled a 36-18-6 overall record in his time at the helm for HPU.
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Holmes, McRobb Earn Player of the Week Nods
Panther forward
Noah Holmes was named the Big South Co-Offensive Player of the Week for this first time this season while
Finn McRobb picked up his second Defensive Player of the Week honor in as many weeks. Holmes recorded a brace at Winthrop while McRobb anchored the HPU back line with 86 minutes of action and one shot.
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McRobb Named Big South Defensive Player of the Week
Junior
Finn McRobb was named the conference's defensive player of the week on Monday, September 19
th. McRobb scored the game-tying goal in the 48
th minute of action against Gardner-Webb on Friday night (September 16). He also played all 90 minutes of the contest to earn his first Big South weekly award of his career.
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Pineda, Trent Earn First Weekly Awards
Forward
Tony Pineda and goalkeeper
Holden Trent were named the Big South's Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, on August 29
th. Pineda scored the game-winning goal over Davidson and the game-tying goal at Georgetown while Trent tallied six saves on the week.
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Pineda Placed on TDS Team of the Week
Top Drawer Soccer released its Team of the Week following its first week of regular season play. High Point senior forward
Tony Pineda was among the 11 players on the team after scoring two goals in the opening week of play.
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Trent Named Preseason Keeper of the Year
Holden Trent was voted the Big South's Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year after finishing last season with the league's best save percentage (.736). Trent allowed just 19 goals while recording 53 saves.
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Panthers Tabbed Second in Preseason Poll
HPU was picked second in the Big South Preseason Coaches' poll behind 2021 tournament champion, Campbell. The Panthers received one first place vote in the poll behind the Camels' eight.
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