HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – The High Point University men's soccer team came up short to No. 2 Marshall University 2-1 Friday night.
Site: Hoops Family Field
Score: High Point 1, Marshall 2
Records: High Point (1-1-1), Marshall (5-0-0)
Head Coach Zach Haines: "We came to Marshall to win a big game, and we fell a little short. But the performance validated what we are capable of. We went toe to toe with arguably the best team in the country on the road, and our guys are gutted they didn't get a better result. That is where the HPU men's soccer program is now, and our staff is proud of that."
The Panthers battled hard with the Thundering Herd who are a top ranked program this season. The Herd came out strong scoring in the 10th minute. Ivaro Garcia-Pascual headed one in just past the reach of
Justin Stewart.
It wasn't long until HPU answered with the equalizer. Who else but
Tony Pineda to tie the game. In the 17th minute,
Kaya Ignacio took it to the bottom corner of the box and found Pineda charging in toward the net. Ignacio placed the ball perfectly so Pineda could hammer it past the keeper.
There was no lack of offense coming from the Purple and White during the first half.
Jefferson Amaya tallied for three shots in the match all coming in the first half. With one minute left on the clock, he fired one from downtown that Marshall's keeper just got a hand on to end the half.
The Herd quickly jumped back on top in the 57th minute from a goal by Marco Silvia.
"We created enough chances to win the game, and we limited them enough to win the game," said Haines. "In the end, we did not make a few plays and that was the difference. The effort and mentality of our team was exceptional, so now we have to make sure that approach stays consistent in every other game. We are confident this experience will make us better for big games the rest of the season."
Things started to get a little chippy on the field as you could tell both teams were giving it their all. High Point just could not find the one they needed to find the back of the net to tie the game.
Up Next: The Panthers are back home at Vert Stadium to welcome Elon University on Tuesday, Sept 12 at 7 p.m.
#GoHPU
