High Point, N.C. – The High Point University men's lacrosse team opened the 2026 season with a home game against the Virginia Military Institute on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers jumped out with a dominant attack and won 19-11 to kick off the 2026 season.
"It was great to finally get out there," Head Coach
John Crawley stated. "It's been a weird preseason… movement of scrimmages, games and a lot of distractions, so to get the chance to open up the year at home was awesome. I am really proud of how we played today. I thought we came out with some pop. I thought our offense did a good job valuing the ball, and it led to good shot opportunities. VMI did a great job scrapping in the middle of the field. Now, just excited to turn the page and get back to work on Monday."
Site: Vert Stadium
Score: High Point 19, VMI 11
Records: High Point (1-0), VMI (0-1)
The offense was led by the duo of
Justin Wixted and
Carson Robins combining for 13 of the 19 points. Wixted collected a career-high nine points fueled by six assists and a hat trick. Robins started the season off hot with four goals, three of which were scored in the first half.
High Point got out to a quick start on offense scoring three straight goals with two back-to-back goals from Robins.
Ian Cann threw in a deep dart on an assist from
Collin Rovere with five minutes to go in the first quarter. Thirty seconds later,
Luca Accardo snuck in a goal after winning the face-off. HPU led 5-1 at the end of the first quarter.
VMI scored first at the start of the second quarter before the Panthers went on a 6-0 run led by
Ryan Hynes and
Owen Bunten. Freshman
Charlie Killen joined in on the action and scored his first goal of his collegiate career.
VMI strung together three goals in the last five minutes of the second quarter to make it 11-5 at the half.
At the start of the second half, VMI scored first again but High Point extended its lead to eight with three straight goals in the first eight minutes of the half. The Panthers held its lead and led 16-8 at the end of the third quarter.
High Point and VMI matched point totals in the fourth quarter, each scoring three goals.
Nicholas Steele scored the final goal of the game, securing his first collegiate goal of his career since recovering from a knee injury. High Point won 19-11 to begin the 2026 season.
Six Panthers had multi-goal performances while
Luca Accardo led the game with 11 ground balls.
UP NEXT:
The Panthers travel to the University of North Carolina on Friday February 13, 2026 for a matchup at 5:00 p.m.
#GoHPU x #A10MLAX
