CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The 2023 season came to an end as the High Point University men's soccer team fell short to UNC Charlotte 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday night. HPU finished the season as back-to-back Big South Champions, making it's fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Site: Transamerica Field
Score: High Point 0, UNC Charlotte 1
Records: High Point (10-4-5, 6-0-1), UNCC (13-3-1, 6-2)
Head Coach Zach Haines: "I feel for our guys tonight. We played it well. We did enough to win the game in terms of our overall performance. Obviously, you must finish your chances and that was the difference tonight. Extremely proud of the performance, the way we played, the quality with which we played… Overall our guys played with everything. Credit to Charlotte, they are a successful program and they've had a successful season for a reason. I thought we made a great account for ourselves tonight. Fell a little bit short but certainly no regrets in terms of the way we approached it."
The 49ers offense was on from the start making High Point's defense play in its own half. The Panthers were able to get the ball to Charlotte's half a few times creating some chances, but not able to get any shots off.
Charlotte got on the board in the 36th minute off a header in the box, while colliding with
Josh Caron.
Seth Antwi was the only one to record a shot in the first half.
High Point started to move the ball a little more in the opposing team's zone during the second half.
Alex Abril and
Kaya Ignacio were the two that got a few shots off but were saved by Charlotte's keeper.
Caron kept the team alive with a key save in the 65th minute.
With five minutes left on the clock, HPU had a few more chances but just could not find the back of the net.
Haines led the Panthers to a 10-4-5 overall record and a 6-0-1 record in the Big South. High Point finished the season going unbeaten in the Big South Conference, winning a Big South Championship, and making the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons.
#GoHPU
