HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University 2025 men's soccer season was one etched in the record books. It was a team that broke records and became the first in program history to accomplish many feats.

Those program firsts stretched into school firsts like winning the third straight Big South Conference regular-season title to being the highest seeded team in the NCAA Tournament (#10), and then to hosting and winning a NCAA Second Round game to earn a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.

The list of firsts goes on and on from those 2025 Panthers, who laid yet another layer of foundation and continued to raise the standard for HPU men's soccer. The next team up in 2026, who will take the pitch for the home season opener today on August 20 against Long Island University at 7:30 p.m., is ready to make their mark and determined to add more pages to the journey.

"We have to keep pushing because last year was not the ultimate goal," HPU Head Coach Zach Haines said. "It is not something that we felt like if we made a run in the NCAA Tournament that our momentum would stop there and the program would have reached its heights — that was simply a step in the right direction as far as we're concerned — so we talk openly and honestly as a staff and as a group of student-athletes about how we continue to do the things necessary to take ourselves to the next level of success. First and foremost, that's our approach and making sure that we have the right mentality because it's really hard to build on success like that, so I think this group of guys is definitely up for it."

The Panthers lost a handful starters who paved the way — like Jefferson Amaya, Brendan Krueger, Beau Yantz and Lukas Kamrath — to graduation and professional soccer opportunities. But have a core of 16 returners, including six starters, looking to continue re-writing the record books.

Two of those returners were 2025 MLS SuperDraft picks: Daniel Lugo (29th overall) and Koven Johnson (70th overall). The duo chose to come back to HPU and wait to pursue their professional careers, stating they wanted to earn their degree and continue to grow, develop and prepare for the next step.

"One more season to develop, to keep improving on what I need to improve," Lugo said, "and then hopefully I'll be more ready to join the Whitecaps organization at the end of the season."

"With my conversations with the Rapids, we decided that High Point would be a great place to continue that development," Johnson said, "and keep working towards my progression so that whenever I do end up joining that organization that I hit the ground running and can make an impact from the get-go."

It speaks volumes about the program that Lugo, who comes into 2026 as the No. 2 ranked player in the nation after scoring 14 goals and 33 points in 20 appearances as an eventual first-round draft pick, elected to come back to school, graduate and perfect his craft with HPU. Johnson, too, stood out as he established himself as a tactical midfielder — with 17 starts in 20 appearances — as he doubled his minutes from a freshman to being drafted as a sophomore in 2025. 

It's physical proof of the development HPU is believing in and putting efforts into — on and off the field, which trickles down to the other returning players and new additions.

"It's symbolic of their belief in this program and this university," Haines said of Lugo and Johnson. "They clearly feel strongly that this is a great place for them to continue to develop, to have fantastic experiences on and off the field. So, for them to wait and be patient for the next step, is, is a show of conviction and confidence in what we're doing, and that resonates with the rest of the team and for future recruits. It is a powerful message."

The return of Lugo, who is the Big South Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List honoree, and Johnson, the Big South Preseason Midfielder of the Year, only make the other returning starters — Josh Caron, Roman Holt, Noah Behrmann, Alfred Baafi — better and keep a strong core of players who experienced the success of 2025 and know how to win at a high level.

The veteran presence of players of the likes of Caron, who was named the Big South Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year, and Holt, the Big South Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and the nation's No. 37 ranked player by TDS, will pay dividends as the season progresses. 

It's a driving force for those who have been there before to instill the culture and standard for the 11-man recruiting class made up of six transfers and five freshmen.

"We all know we have more to give and we can learn from those lessons of 2025," Johnson said. "It gives all of us returners faith in the experience that we can pass on to the new guys that can help build that trust in each other, and the confidence that we can achieve just as much if not more this year."

The 2026 class was ranked overall No. 12 by TopDrawerSoccer as three rookies were individually ranked: Nick Sarantakos, No. 80; Kieran Smith, No. 143; Jackson Stephens, No. 158. 

The rookies paired with the other newcomers —Aidan Morrison, Enzo Rekka, Bernardo Raposo, Lucas Kelly, Noah Joseph and Ashton Miles — have added athleticism, power, depth and competition to make every position group stronger.

"We feel that we have not only the high-end players that we need, you know, guys that get drafted coming back, and then guys that will emerge and get into that conversation, but we also have a really nice collection of guys that understand what it takes to be successful in college soccer games," Haines said. "And they will do anything they possibly can for this program, and then we have guys that we, of course, think from a talent standpoint, are good enough to play anywhere in the country."

Haines and his staff recruit players who want to be at HPU and understand the high demand required of them — not only on the pitch but off in the community and classroom.

The standards of recruiting and developing high-character, high-IQ student-athletes put the Panthers in a position to schedule teams like #11 Virginia, #7 Maryland, VCU, South Carolina and #5 Georgetown over a five-game stretch to begin the season.

"We want to know exactly who we are and where we are, as quickly as possible in terms of the level," Haines said, "and then what we need to attack in terms of improvement. It's to make you better at the end, more equipped to win knockout games at the end of the season, so you want those learning lessons to come thick and fast rather than maybe developing some false confidence by playing a softer schedule. We'll never do that."

The Panthers, who come into 2026 as the 16th-ranked team in the nation and the first unanimous Big South Preseason favorite since 2012, want to be in the conversation with the best teams in the country and have positioned themselves as one of those teams. It happened before the Sweet Sixteen run in 2025 as HPU was defeating ranked teams like #1 Pitt, #7 Maryland, #17 Elon, #25 Coastal Carolina, North Carolina, Duke and many more.

It's what HPU strives for each year and 2026 won't be any different. These Panthers will begin writing a new chapter together as a new team and proving the program's list of firsts can continue to expand.

"I think that we should focus on being the best versions of ourselves, and I think that if we work hard and all stick together, that success will come with that," Lugo said. "We have a lot of talented guys in this group, a lot of hardworking guys, a lot of humble guys, and we're very well coached, so I think instead of trying to be the team from last year, I think we should just be the best versions of ourselves this year, and like I said, I think the success and the results will come with that."