For the third time in program history, the High Point University men's soccer team is set to play in the NCAA Men's Soccer College Cup. HPU will face North Carolina on Thursday at noon in Chapel Hill in the first round of tournament play. Â
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High Point at North Carolina – First Round NCAA Tournament
Thursday, November 17th | 12:00 PM
Dorrance Field| Chapel Hill, N.C.
Watch | Live Stats | Bracket | Tournament Program | Tournament Information
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Last Time Out
High Point took down No. 1-seed Campbell, 2-0, in the Big South Tournament Championship to claim its second tournament title in three seasons.
Noah Holmes recorded the brace and earned All-Tournament MVP honors while
Holden Trent,
Finn McRobb, and
Sebastian Chalbaud were All-Tournament Team members.
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High Point in the NCAA Tournament
The Panthers are making their third NCAA postseason appearance, after earning selections for the 2018 and 2020 tournaments. The 2022 season will mark the first true away match for HPU in the NCAA Tournament after hosting James Madison in 2018 before playing a neutral site game in 2020 with No. 8 Georgetown at Matthews Sportsplex.
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In 2020, High Point fell 2-0 to Georgetown in the second round, who ended up falling to eventual National Champion, Marshall. In 2018, HPU fell to James Madison, 3-0, in the first round of tournament play.
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High Point vs. North Carolina
The Panthers are 0-3-1 all-time against the Tar Heels, but the two teams have not faced each other since the 2007 season. In those four matchups, HPU dropped a 6-0 contest in 1999, a 2-0 match in 2005, tied UNC in 2006, and fell 4-0 in 2007.
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About the Tar Heels
Earning its 14
th NCAA Tournament bid in 15 seasons, North Carolina enters the match with an 8-5-5 record after falling to No. 4 Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, 1-0. Two Tar Heels were All-ACC picks as fifth-year Milo Garvanian was named to the Second Team and Sam Williams was voted on the All-Freshman Team. Garvanian and Akeim Clarke lead UNC with four goals each while Garvanian and Tim Schels both have four assists.
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High Point's Path to the NCAA Tournament
High Point men's soccer won its second Big South Tournament in three seasons as
Noah Holmes recorded a brace and claimed league honors as the Tournament MVP.
Holden Trent,
Finn McRobb, and
Sebastian Chalbaud joined Holmes on the All-Tournament Team. HPU's automatic bid secured the program's third overall NCAA Tournament berth after the Panthers earned an at-large bid in 2018 before its first Big South Tournament Championship in the 2020 spring season.
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High Point Nationally Impactful
Graduate student
Noah Holmes currently ranks tied for 11th in game-winning goals among Division I players. Holmes' four game winners came in games against Coastal Carolina, Winthrop, UNC Asheville, and the conference championship game at Campbell. Holmes is also tied for 18th in NCAA DI total goals (10) and 38th in goals per game (0.53).
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Senior goalkeeper
Holden Trent is tied for 23rd in shutouts among NCAA Division I players. Trent has tallied seven shutouts on the year in games against Davidson, Elon, Presbyterian, Campbell, UNC Asheville, Longwood, and the Big South Championship against Campbell.
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This Season with the Panthers
High Point finished the regular season with a 8-4-5 overall record and 5-0-3 in conference play. Despite not dropping a Big South game, the Panthers finished as runners up in regular season play and drew the No. 2 seed heading into the conference tournament. In the opening round of postseason, HPU hosted No. 3-seed USC Upstate at Vert Stadium.
Noah Holmes helped HPU to a solid start, scoring the first goal in the 21st minute with assists being credited to
Holland Rula and
Finn McRobb. From there, HPU recorded two goals from
Jefferson Amaya and
Ashton Perkins over the next 20 minutes to take a commanding 3-0 lead into halftime.
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After a red card forced the Panthers to play the last 35 minutes of the match down a man, High Point stuck together defensively to hold Upstate scoreless through 89 minutes of play, but the Spartans capitalized on a ball that was deflected in the box by a Panther defender in the final minute. The damage had been done, and High Point advanced to the Big South Championship for the fourth consecutive season with a 3-1 victory.
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Despite its regular season game not being decided until the 83rd minute of play, High Point got out to a much quicker start in the Big South Championship against Campbell. Holmes once again was the one to put HPU on the board in the 11th minute of play as the Panthers dominated possession and pace of play to open the game. Holmes recorded his fourth brace of the season as he scored again in the 80th minute.
Jackson Ruckman,
Kaya Ignacio, and
Larson Rula were credited with assists in the match while
Holden Trent made two saves on the night as HPU limited Campbell to one shot on goal in each half.
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Holmes, Rula Make Return to Chapel Hill
Transfers
Noah Holmes and
Holland Rula have each played UNC in their careers with previous schools, Holmes at Liberty and Rula at Wake Forest. Holmes scored the game-winning goal at UNC in a 1-0 win for the Flames in the spring 2021 season. Rula's Demon Deacons picked up two wins over the then-No. 3 Tar Heels, a 1-0 win in overtime in the 2021 spring season. Wake Forest also defeated No. 19 UNC in 2019 in a 1-0 match.
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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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