HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men's lacrosse team took its first loss at Vert Stadium this season in its final regular season game against Saint Joseph's. The Panthers close the 2023 season with a 6-1 record at home, compiling a 23-8 record over the past five seasons at Vert Stadium.
Site: Vert Stadium
Score: High Point 11, Saint Joseph's 17
Records: High Point (8-7, 2-3 A10), Saint Joseph's (10-4, 5-0 A10)
"Hats off to Saint Joseph's," said head coach
Jon Torpey. "They are talented, played incredibly hard, and are very well-coached. We have to play a much better lacrosse game on Thursday if we are going to compete in the conference tournament."
After over six scoreless minutes, the Hawks were the first on the board. Prior to the goal,
Parker Green and the Panther defense saw four shots and just one was on target as Green made the save. But HPU responded just over a minute later when
Jack VanOverbeke connected with
Brayden Mayea to even the score.
Several minutes later, VanOverbeke scored his first of the day after
Nick Murphy found him wide open at the crease.
The Hawks scored two more to take back the 3-2 lead, but
Jaxson Lamb netted the first of his team-high and career-high five goals.
Lamb opened the second quarter with another, this time on a feed from VanOverbeke. VanOverbeke finished the day with four assists.
SJU evened the game at 4-4 with 12:27 left in the half, but Lamb posted a first-half hat trick after a dish from
Michael Ippolito.
After nearly three minutes with neither team finding the net, Saint Joseph's tallied five unanswered goals in just over one minute, jumping to a 9-5 lead with six minutes left in the half. While HPU was able to stop the run and Lamb finished off the half with another goal, this time unassisted, the Panthers trailed 9-6 at the break.
HPU was the first to score to open the second half, as
Hunter Vines connected with VanOverbeke on the first possession to bring the Panthers back within two goals. But the Hawks were able to add more distance with another run, this time a 4-0 stretch that left the visitors leading, 13-7.
Colin Cooke scored his first goal of the day as Ippolito tallied another assist with three minutes left in the third period, but SJU scored in the final minute to hold the six-goal lead.
Jack Sawyer added his first winner of the day to open the fourth to bring HPU within 14-9. However, both teams traded goals the rest of the way to keep SJU comfortably ahead. Lamb and Mayea each had scores in the final quarter.
Up Next: High Point looks to the inaugural Atlantic 10 tournament to be played in Richmond next week. The Panthers are likely to be announced as the No. 4 seed and will most likely face Saint Joseph's for a rematch on Thursday, May 4
th.
#GoHPU x #A10MLAX
