CHARLESTON, S.C. — On a beautiful Saturday morning, the High Point University women's soccer team scored two goals in the opening five minutes and never looked back en route to a 3-0 victory at Charleston Southern University.
It was the second straight shutout Big South victory for the Panthers and the eighth clean sheet this season as HPU leads the league with 13 points.
SITE: CSU Soccer Field
SCORE: High Point 3, Charleston Southern 0
RECORDS: High Point (7-5-3, 4-1-1), Charleston So. (5-4-3, 2-1-2)
Head Coach Aaron McGuiness: "Since our last game, we have been talking about how we wanted to defend against Charleston Southern and how important it was to come out with an early start. It's a full credit to the girls for being energized and prepared for this game. They took it to them right from the start, following the game plan and it paid off with two early goals which was nice to see. Two-nil is a very vulnerable scoreline and we did really well managing that and making sure we eliminated their opportunities. We were unlucky not to score another one or two ourselves, but all in all, a very solid and disciplined performance."
The Panthers didn't waste time getting started Saturday.
Within a minute, HPU was ahead on the scoreboard after
Sabba Haghgoo pressured the Buccaneer defenders, taking the ball on a kick-out from the goalie for an empty-net goal.
Tessa Carlin followed suit when the graduate forward tussled away the ball from the CSU goalie and deposited it into the right corner alike Haghgoo.
It was Haghgoo's team-leading fifth score and Carlin's third goal this season to give the Panthers a lead they would never lose.
HPU maintained the pressure the rest of the way and limited any type of Charleston scoring threat. The Panthers added onto their lead early in the second half when Carlin drew a penalty in the box and
Lindsey DeHaven deposited the penalty kick for her third goal this season. It was the first PK taken by a HPU player this season.
Aubrey McKessy continued her clean sheet dominance, registering her eighth highlighted by a key save late in the second half. The graduate keeper had four saves over the final 45 minutes.
Up Next: The Panthers are back on the road for a Big South matchup at Radford Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.
#GoHPU
