WILMINGTON, N.C. — Tessa Carlin and
Peyton Gilmore scored a first-half goal apiece, while
Aubrey McKessy made a diving penalty kick save in the 78th minute to secure a 2-2 draw on the road versus UNC Wilmington Sunday afternoon.
SITE: UNCW Soccer Stadium
SCORE: High Point 2, UNC Wilmington 2
RECORDS: High Point (2-4-1), UNCW (2-3-2)
Head Coach Aaron McGuiness: "After the first half, it was ours to lose. You have to give credit to Wilmington; they came out and took the game to us. We struggled at times in the second half, but Aubrey came up big with the penalty save and it was huge because it would've put them up 3-2. It was nice to see Tessa and Peyton both get a goal. We created opportunities and we have to watch our offsides as it is our achilles heel at the moment. We need to be mindful of that because we put ourselves in very dangerous situations."
The Panthers raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first half.
In the 24th minute, Carlin netted her first goal this season via
Morgan Wilcox's first collegiate assist as the freshman stole the ball from the goalie and found Carlin for an empty-net goal.
HPU added onto its lead when
Emily Mashinski sent a through ball past midfield and right into the feet of the sprinting Gilmore, who took the pass and slipped it by the keeper's hands in the 41st minute. It was Gilmore's first goal as a Panther and Mashinski's first assist this season.
The Seahawks countered instantly, scoring less than 30 seconds later to cut the deficit in half before intermission. The momentum shifted to UNCW as the Seahawks matched the Panthers' eight first-half shots in the second half. In all, both teams had eight shots on goal as UNCW edged HPU in shots, 12-11.
McKessy and the defense stood strong after the Seahawks tied the game in the 66th minute. The graduate keeper saved six shots and none more important than the penalty kick in the 78th minute as she dove left and swatted away the shot to keep the tie intact.
The 2-2 draw was the first result the Panthers have gotten against the Seahawks after coming into the match 0-8 against them since 2000.
Up Next: The Panthers welcome UMBC to Vert Stadium for a mid-week match on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.
