Box Score HIGH POINT, N.C. – On Senior Night, senior
Brendan Krueger knocked in two goals for his first-career brace to go along with two scores from
Daniel Lugo and another from
Lukas Kamrath as the No. 8 High Point University men's soccer team rolled past Winthrop, 5-0, on Saturday night to close out the regular season with a perfect Big South Conference record.
In seven conference matches, the Panthers have outscored opponents 22-1, which signifies the least goals allowed in conference play in Big South history.
Site: Vert Stadium
Score: #8 High Point 5, Winthrop 0
Records: High Point (11-1-4, 7-0-0), Winthrop (1-12-3, 1-5-1)
Head Coach Zach Haines: "I'm just really happy for our seniors. You always want senior night to go well, and I think it went as well as well as it possibly could in every way," said Haines. "Very grateful for those 10 guys, and grateful that the night went well… It's a fitting last regular season game for them and a senior night that we all hoped for."
Before kickoff, the Panthers celebrated 10 seniors along with their friends and families on the field including
Josh Caron,
Zakaria Daaou,
Jefferson Amaya,
Brendan Krueger,
Mo Guettel,
Beau Yantz,
Celestin Blondel,
Caleb Britt,
Nick Herb, and
Matt Brucker.
Action got underway and after a strong early offensive attack from the Panthers, it paid off in the 13th minute. A defensive stop from HPU led to
Alfred Baafi pushing the ball to Krueger. Krueger drew the defense in before finding an open Lugo on the far left side of the field as he struck in a one-timer to the bottom right corner of the net for the 1-0 lead to make it the 10th different game Lugo has scored in.
Lugo wasn't done adding onto his goal count for the season. In the 30th minute, it was Lugo again that put the Panthers up, 2-0. Lugo led the charge up the field, finding Blondel, who'd give the ball right back to Lugo as he took one dribble before firing a bullet ball to the top right corner of the goal for his second score of the game.
The score is Lugo's second brace of his career, with his first coming in the season opener against Georgetown. It was also Lugo's 12th goal of the season which puts him tied for fourth in the entire NCAA Division I in total goals. The goal also puts him tied for eighth in HPU history in goals in a single season, and tied for fourth in HPU history since the Panthers transitioned to Division I in 1999.
"I've been so blessed to transfer to a place where everyone plays for each other, and I got great teammates," Lugo said. "My goals are just a reflection of everyone's hard work."
It was a dominant first half for the Panthers as they outshot Winthrop in total shots, 11 to two, and shots on goal, five to one.
The second half got underway and it took less than seven minutes for HPU to extend its advantage, 3-0. A corner kick taken by
Chris Niblock found its way to Baafi on the far right post. Baafi chipped the ball over the defenders and right to Krueger as he easily tapped in his third goal of the season in the 52nd minute.
In the span of the next five minutes, the Panthers scored twice in 59 seconds. The first of two came in the 55th minute. A shot from Niblock was deflected up in the air, landing right at the foot of Kamrath as he one-tapped the ball out of the air into the right side of the goal for the 4-0 advantage. Then less than a minute later, a missed shot opportunity off the left post by Amaya bounced directly back to the left foot of Krueger, allowing the senior on Senior Night to knock in his second goal of the game and the gigantic 5-0 lead. The assist was awarded to Amaya.
"Obviously Senior Night means a lot to me. I have all my family here and all my friends," said Krueger. "It meant the world, especially to score two goals in front of them. It meant a lot."
It is the first brace of Krueger's career and his fourth score of the season.
"Krueger has had one of the great careers in High Point history," Haines said. "He's had an outstanding career, and he will be playing at the next level somewhere in a few months, and I can't wait to keep watching because he's an awesome kid."
"I've known him [Krueger] since I was like 11 years old," Lugo said. "I've been blessed to know Krueger for a while. He's a great kid. Seeing him grow and just keep balling through the years. He's always been a baller so seeing him do it at such a high level, there's no surprise there and I got a lot of love for him."
The five goals scored are the most goals HPU has recorded since the Panthers knocked in five scores against Radford on October 1, 2022. It is also the second time HPU has scored at least four goals in a game this season.
The Panthers shutout Winthrop, 5-0, in dominant fashion for HPU's 10th straight victory over Winthrop. High Point recorded 30 total shots for the most the Panthers have recorded in a single game all season. HPU also totaled 13 shots on goal, which is the second-most High Point has tallied in a game this season.
HPU held Winthrop to five shots, two shots on goal, and five corner kicks compared to the Panthers' 10.
Josh Caron recorded two saves for the team's eighth clean sheet of the season and sixth against Big South Conference opponents as Caron has still only given up one goal in conference play compared to the Panthers' 22 scores.
Peter Morano played his first minutes, logging nearly 20 minutes to maintain the clean sheet.
Every available HPU player recorded minutes for the first time all season.
"It's hard to imagine coming in that we'd be able to play literally every single guy on our team that's available," Haines said. The senior class all played substantial minutes in front of their friends and families."
Up Next: The Panthers host the Big South Conference semifinals on Sunday, November 9 at 6 p.m. with their opponent to be announced.
#GoHPU
