HIGH POINT, N.C. – With a facility-record number of fans in attendance for the Family Weekend game, the 11th-ranked High Point University men's soccer team put on a dominant performance in front of the 3,213 fans under the night lights of Vert Stadium as the Panthers cruised their way to victory to stay unbeaten, 3-1, against their first Big South conference opponent of the season, Presbyterian, on Friday night.
Site: Vert Stadium
Score: #11 High Point 3, Presbyterian 1
Records: High Point (5-0-2, 1-0-0), Presbyterian (3-3-2, 0-1-0)
Head Coach Zach Haines: "I thought we were very dominant for 99 percent of the game. I thought it was as complete of a performance as you can ask for, for game one in the Big South. We are really pleased with the performance. A lot of guys played tonight, a lot of guys contributed. Great mentality from the start. And for the fans, not only are people coming, they're backing the team, they're supporting the team. And it is definitely helping us get results. Even sometimes when you're having to face an adversity, like the Marshall game, with that crazy ending, I think without the electricity of that crowd and the backing of support, you know, maybe we don't get over the line. So I'm really, really pleased with it, and I hope it continues."
A strong start for the Panthers put them on the scoreboard in the fifth minute after a free kick from near the left corner from
Jefferson Amaya eventually found its way to
Celestin Blondel, who struck in his first goal of the season to the far left back of the net for the 1-0 advantage. It was Blondel's second start of the season and first in four games.
It was an impressively dominant first-half from the Panthers as they had 17 shots compared to Presbyterian's single shot, six shots on goal from HPU compared to one, and nine corners compared to Presbyterian's zero.
An HPU throw-in led to
Daniel Lugo breaking away from the defense, racing ahead towards goal, beating two defenders and the goalie before striking in his team-leading fifth goal of the season in the 55th minute to advance the Panther lead 2-0. This is the fourth different game Lugo has scored a goal in this season.
"I was just lucky to be in the right spot and then do my job," Lugo said. "Ultimately, it just comes down to my teammates' hard work, and then I just happen to be at the end of the play so I just want people to know that my goals are everybody's goals and it's all our hard work."
"We know that he's [Lugo] going to deliver because he's just got that ability in and around the box to score in any kind of way. So really, really pleased for him. Proud of him," Haines said.
Five minutes later in the 59th minute, HPU pushed their lead to three goals after another throw-in found Lugo, who made his way to the left side's endline before crossing in a pass to a diving
Chris Niblock, who would one-touch the ball off a defender and into the back right corner of the net for the sophomore's first collegiate goal.
"We're dangerous constantly and that is down to good players, but also depth," said Haines. "We're able to rotate on five, six guys, and the level doesn't drop, so I'm very pleased with just the overall depth that we're showing and what they're bringing to the table every single game. We're getting tons of great performances."
A foul on
Koven Johnson in the penalty area set Presbyterian up for the penalty kick as the Blue Hose's netted in their first goal of the night to make the score, 3-1.
The Panthers sealed the 3-1 victory in controlling fashion as HPU set season-highs in total shots with 27, shots on target with nine, and corner kicks with 11 while holding Presbyterian to four total shots, three on target, and two corners.
"We definitely did a great job with our pressure tonight," Haines said. "We made that a huge emphasis. We wanted to press them high. We wanted to stay in their half as much as we could with and without the ball. Very, very happy with how hard the guys worked to not only put them under pressure, but then that's where a lot of the attacking chances come from is good defensive work."
Up Next: The Panthers will hit the road for their first of a four-game road trip as they head to Morgantown, W. Va. for a top-15 showdown against #13 West Virginia on Tuesday, September 23 at 7 p.m.
#GoHPU
