ST. LOUIS, Mo. – High Point University men's soccer alum
Holden Trent (Greensboro, N.C.) was selected by the Philadelphia Union in the first round of the Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft on Wednesday night (December 21). The Triad native was the 28
th overall pick and the highest pick for an HPU men's soccer player in the SuperDraft and just the third Big South player to be selected during the first round in conference history.
Trent, a team captain for the Panthers this season, finished his career sixth among NCAA Division I active career leaders in shutouts (22) in the fewest games played (52) and was 12
th in the same category across all NCAA divisions. He also finished in the top-25 for DI active career leaders in goals against average (1.00) while setting the program record as well.
"This is a well-deserved opportunity for Holden. We are so proud of him," High Point head coach
Zach Haines said. "He has worked extremely hard to develop as a player and person. He is absolutely ready for this step in his career, and I am confident he will be successful."
This season, Trent turned in NCAA DI top-10 performances in single-season minutes played (5
th, 1,890) and shutouts (10
th, 8). He also tallied 58 saves on the season. He was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-South Region Third Team and was a TopDrawerSoccer Best XI Second Team honoree. He anchored the HPU defense in goal, playing all 1,890 minutes of the Panthers' season while helping High Point to its first-ever men's NCAA Tournament win, a 2-0 shutout of North Carolina. Trent also helped High Point to its fourth program win over a ranked opponent, a 2-1 victory at No. 7 Maryland on October 17th.
The reigning two-time Big South Goalkeeper of the Year earned First Team All-Conference honors for each of the three seasons he started in goal and league Defensive Player of the Week status seven times throughout his career. He was featured on TopDrawerSoccer's Midseason Top-100 players list at No. 21 this season. He was also honored on the outlet's National Team of the Week (Oct. 4, 2022) and was the Player of the Week (March 16, 2021) as well.
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Philadelphia opens the season at home against Columbus on February 25, 2023, for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
#GoHPU
