SPARTANBURG, S.C. — You couldn't have scripted Friday night's Big South Conference match between High Point University and USC Upstate, even if you tried. It was a cinematic finish in Spartanburg, S.C., that ended with the Panthers extending their win streak to nation-leading six games behind a 2-1 victory.
With under eight minutes to play, the Panthers trailed 1-0, but all of that changed in the blink of an eye.
Daniel Lugo continued his magical play over the past three games, taking a pass from
Noah Behrmann and turning it into his conference-leading 10th goal of the season in the 83rd minute for the equalizer.
Then, with seconds ticking down,
Noah Behrmann soared a pass into the goal box to
Nick Sarantakos, who set
Lucas Kelly up to one-time the ball into the net for his first score in Purple & White and the game-winning score with three seconds remaining. The last-second goal marked the Panthers' first buzzer-beating victory since 2017 when
Siggi Benonysson scored with 2.4 seconds remaining to crown the Panthers regular-season champions in a 1-0 win over Presbyterian.
"We came out a little soft; we didn't start as fast as we wanted to," Kelly said, "We had to question ourselves at halftime. 'Who are the Panthers? Who is High Point? And what do we want to actually accomplish this year?' And that kind of triggered us in the second half to just go all for it. Like, this is who we are, no matter what comes at our face. We're going to just fight until the last second, and that's exactly what we did."
Site: County University Soccer Stadium
Score: High Point 2, USC Upstate 1
Records: High Point (8-3-1, 4-0), USC Upstate (4-9, 2-2)
The Panthers saw an early deficit as Upstate scored a goal in the 16th minute to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. HPU looked to respond in the 39th minute when
Aidan Morrison fired a shot on goal, but the USC Upstate goalkeeper made the save as the Spartans took their 1-0 lead into halftime. The Panthers recorded four shots, including one on goal, and earned two corner kicks in the opening 45 minutes.
Josh Caron tallied two saves while facing eight shots.
High Point continued to search for an equalizer after the break, creating a dangerous opportunity in the 79th minute. An
Anthony Ramirez corner kick landed at the head of Lugo, whose header attempt at goal was deflected out of bounds by the fingertips of the Upstate goalkeeper.
HPU continued its aggressive attack, as another opportunity followed in the 82nd minute. Sarantakos led the offense upfield before playing a give-and-go with Lugo as Sarantakos took a strike at goal, with his attempt being saved.
The aggressive attack paid off as HPU finally broke through in the 83rd minute.
Noah Behrmann delivered a pass into the goal box to Lugo, who controlled the ball with his foot, turned around and fired a shot to the back right part of the net to even the score at 1-1. The goal was Lugo's 10th of the season, giving him the Big South Conference lead, and his seventh in the last four games. The goal is Lugo's fourth in conference play, and with 10 goals on the season, Lugo moved into a tie for second in NCAA Division I.
With the final whistle near, the Panthers had one final opportunity to complete a comeback worth talking about for years to come.
Noah Behrmann intercepted an Upstate pass as HPU charged upfield with under 20 seconds remaining. The ball found the foot of Behrmann, who lobbed a pass to Sarantakos in the goalbox, who laid it off to Kelly, who, with three seconds remaining, somehow squeezed the ball between the goalkeeper and goalpost for the diving game-winning score as all the Panthers ran after Kelly celebrating.
The goal marked Kelly's first in an HPU uniform and made him the ninth different Panther to score this season. It was Behrmann's second multi-assist match this season as he has a team-high six.
"I knew we needed something there," Kelly said. "It started a little rough, and it was like, you know what, we have one minute left, might as well go for it. Saw the opportunity to get up there and made the most of the opportunity, so it was awesome. He [Sarantakos] set me, and I saw the keeper was just off his line, so I was like, I'm going to hit it and pray. And I just hit it as hard as I could at the goal."
It was a full-circle moment for Kelly, who last season with Liberty recorded his first career brace on the same field where he scored his first goal in the Purple and White.
With the victory, the Panthers extended their winning streak to six games versus USC Upstate and their conference winning streak to 12 games, with HPU's last conference loss coming in 2024.
HPU finished with 14 shots, six shots on goal and earned seven corner kicks, while Caron recorded three shots and faced 10 total shots.
Up Next: HPU returns home to host George Washington on Tuesday, October 13, at 6 p.m., as the Panthers look to extend their winning streak to seven games.
#GoHPU
