MATTHEWS, N.C. — In program's third appearance in the Big South Conference Women's Soccer Championship match over the past five seasons, second-seeded High Point University fell to top-seeded USC Upstate on Sunday, 3-0.
SITE: Matthews Sportsplex
SCORE: High Point 0, USC Upstate 3
RECORDS: High Point (9-7-3), Upstate (10-4-4)
Head Coach Aaron McGuiness: "It's a disappointing result. I thought our players battled hard. Both teams had chances and Upstate capitalized on theirs and we didn't."
In the opening minutes, the Panthers had the first real chance as a
Tessa Carlin shot ricochetted off the post. USC Upstate limited High Point's chances with only two shots on goal — the one from Carlin and another from
Lindsey DeHaven — with the other five attempts all grazing past the crossbars.
Peyton Gilmore and
Meg Roden had the most off-target quality attempts.
HPU goalkeeper
Aubrey McKessy had five saves, while the three goals by Upstate were high-arching strikes into the left and right corners of the net. The Spartans had 15 shots with eight on goal.
The match was as gritty as a finals match could be, with the Spartans finishing their opportunities and the Panthers falling short of their eighth NCAA Tournament appearance. Senior captains
Tessa Carlin,
Alex DePerno and
Ella Vaughn were named to the Championship All-Tournament team.
Catarina Dantas, USC Upstate (MVP)
Dara Russo, USC Upstate
Savannah Noll, USC Upstate
Paige Armstrong, USC Upstate
Alex DePerno, High Point
Ella Vaughn, High Point
Tessa Carlin, High Point
Lilly Short, Radford
Jashyra Johnson, Radford
Kelly Hall, Presbyterian
Lyla Chadd, Presbyterian
Alex Dinger, Longwood
Anna Doane, UNC Asheville
#GoHPU
