ROCK HILL, S.C. — Daniel Lugo scored a second-half brace to power the High Point University men's soccer team to a 2-0 shutout Big South Conference victory at Winthrop University on Tuesday night.
It was the Panthers' fourth straight win and continued their 10-year unbeaten streak on the road in Big South play.
Site: Eagle Field
Score: High Point 2, Winthrop 0
Records: High Point (6-3-1, 2-0-0), Winthrop (4-4-1, 1-1-0)
Head Coach Zach Haines: "Important win tonight. Winthrop is having a good season and they really tested us tonight, especially early on. We showed a great mentality to get the job done. We are excited to be back at home for Big South Conference Game No. 3 on Saturday."
In the opening minutes, the Panthers were challenged with numerous Winthrop chances. Just past the seven-minute mark, the Eagles were awarded a penalty kick after
Josh Caron came out of goal and tried to clear the ball out of the box. The HPU goalie got a piece of the Eagle attacker to warrant a PK attempt, but the kick was wide left to leave the Panthers unblemished.
Daniel Lugo had a shot on goal as the 20-minute mark passed and the Eagles had back-to-back free kick opportunities. The Panthers countered late in the half with multiple chances from
Ryan Behrmann and
Noah Behrmann; however, after 45 minutes of play, the match remained scoreless.
The Panthers had the lone shot on goal with five total as the Eagles had three shots, with zero corner kicks from either team.
The Eagles had a corner opportunity out of half but weren't able to capitalize. Minutes later on the other end, HPU found paydirt when
Enzo Rekka crossed a ball into Lugo as his second shot on goal was a header for the 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute.
Winthrop had a few shots graze the crossbar, not finding the net alike the Panthers' opportunities. Off a free kick,
Anthony Ramirez received the ball from
Ryan Behrmann and sent it up field to
Alfred Baafi, who headed it back to Lugo, as the senior two-touched it and fired the shot into the right corner for the 2-0 advantage in the 68th minute.
It was Lugo's second straight multi-goal game, netting five goals over the past two games, to give him a team-high eight goals on the season.
The Big South teams went back-and-forth over the final 22 minutes — with seven shots from HPU and eight coming via Winthrop total in the second half — but the Panthers held the upper hand for their fourth straight victory.
Up Next: The Panthers head back to Vert Stadium to host Longwood on Saturday, October 5 at 7:30 p.m.
#GoHPU
