RADFORD, Va. — In the next-to-last regular-season match, the High Point University women's soccer team fell to Radford University Wednesday night, 1-0.
With the loss, the Panthers move into second place in the Big South Conference with one game to play. USC Upstate, who defeated HPU earlier in October, sits in first place and owns the tiebreaker. The top eight teams make the conference tournament — as the top two seeds earn byes — with semifinals beginning on November 7 at the Sportsplex in Matthews, N.C.
SITE: Patrick D. Cupp Memorial Stadium
SCORE: High Point 0, Radford 1
RECORDS: High Point (7-6-3, 4-2-1), Radford (7-3-5, 2-1-3)
Head Coach Aaron McGuiness: "We started slow, and Radford is always a tough team to play against. They got an early goal against us and from there, it was a bit of an uphill battle. I thought in the last 15 to 20 minutes of the first half, and then the entire second half, we were a much more dominant team. We were unlucky with a few chances; their keeper made a few saves but nothing truly threatening. At the end of the day, we have to live up to our standards and the reputation that we have and do better in those moments."
In a back-and-forth physical match, the Panthers and Highlanders traded shots for the entirety of play. HPU matched Radford's first-half nine shots in the second half as
Tessa Carlin had a team-high five shots and three on goal. The Panthers had nine shots on goal to the Highlanders' five.
The Highlanders took advantage of their chance in the 18th minute when Lilly Short scored in what proved to be the game-winning goal. HPU limited Radford's scoring chances in the second half, while the Panthers took more control of possession.
Carlin and
Lindsey DeHaven, who had a first-half shot graze the upper-left post for one of four shots, nearly found the equalizer on multiple attempts. Meanwhile, goalkeeper
Aubrey McKessy kept the Panthers in the match after the first-half goal.
The graduate transfer registered three saves as each were head-turning saves, while the defense stood strong and deflected a corner-kick feed that nearly slipped into the right corner to keep it a one-score game.
Up Next: The Panthers close out the regular season on home turf with a matchup versus UNC Asheville on Saturday, October 26 at 4 p.m. HPU will celebrate its 11 seniors in a ceremony before kickoff.
#GoHPU
