HIGH POINT, N.C. — High Point University Athletics sees a busy week as men's golf opens its season at Davidson College, men's soccer hosts two rivalry opponents, and women's soccer finishes its non-conference slate. Volleyball travels to the Midwest to face two ranked schools before heading to Pittsburgh to battle another Panther. Cross country faces a challenging course in Virginia and women's golf heads to a Big Ten golf course.

Men's Golf

River Run Collegiate | Davidison, N.C. | River Run Country Club
Round One | Monday, Sept. 11 | 9:00 am | Shotgun start
Round Two | Tuesday, Sept. 12 | 8:00 am | Tee times
Live scoring

The HPU men's golf team begins its fall season down the road in Davidson. The starting lineup is as follows: Gregor Meyer, Grady Newton, Miller Carr, Fred Roberts IV, and Burch Harrison. Jay Smith will be attending as an individual. A full season preivew can be viewed HERE.

Men's Soccer

vs Elon | Tuesday, Sept. 12 | 7:00 pm | Vert Stadium
Promo: Tank tops
Watch | Livestats

vs UNCG | Saturday, Sept. 16 | 7:00 pm | Vert Stadium
Promo: White flags
Watch | Livestats

HPU battled valiantly against No. 2 Marshall University last Friday. The Herd wasted no time getting down to business, scoring a quick goal at the 10th minute. Seven minutes later, High Point retaliated with the equalizer. Kaya Ignacio sent a perfect pass over to Tony Pineda who hammered the ball past the keeper. After the half, Marshall once again scored a quick goal at the 57th minute. The Panthers worked hard and gave it their all, but where unable to land the ball in the net, ending the game with a 2-1 loss.

Elon University last played the Monmouth University Hawks. Both teams initially struggled to take the lead, with the score staying at 0-0 to end the half. In the 60th minute, Elon scored off a corner kick, putting them in the lead. With a minute to go left in the game, it looked as though the Phoenix had secured a victory, until Elon turned over the ball leading to the Hawks taking a shot and securing the equalizer. The game ended 1-1.

Last time HPU played Elon, the game came to a scoreless draw. Elon took 14 shots to High Point's nine. Four of Elon's shots were on goal, giving HPU four saves, while the Panthers took two shots on goal, resulting in two Phoenix saves. The last game's tie moved HPU's record against Elon to 8-9-5. 

University of North Carolina Greensboro last played University of North Carolina at Charlotte. UNCG, who was ranked to begin the season, has had a rough start with a 0-2-2 record. Late in the first half, neither team had scored until Charlotte secured a goal in the 38th minute for an early lead. After half, the Spartans buckled down on offense shooting nine of their 11 shots on goal. At the 75th minute, UNCG maneuvered the ball past a defender and shot the ball perfectly into the net to tie the game. Four minutes later, the Spartans capitalized on their momentum placing a ricocheted ball into the corner of the net, securing the team's first win of the season, 2-1. 

HPU continues rivalry week with a visit from the Spartans. The last time these two teams played UNCG got on the board first, but the Panthers were able to retaliate with a goal off a penalty kick in the 36th minute to tie the match. The Spartans were able to score another before the end of the half. After intermission, HPU lost its momentum, giving up three goals to UNCG. The game ended with a Panther loss, 5-1. High Point has played UNCG 16 times since their first game in 2002. HPU's most recent loss evened out the record between the teams, with the Panthers taking eight wins and eight losses against the Spartans. 

Women's Soccer

at North Carolina State | Thursday, Sept. 14 | 7:00 pm | Dail Soccer Complex
Watch | Livestats

HPU last played Old Dominion University last week. ODU scored one point in the first half, and two in the second, while High Point was unable to land the ball in the net. The Panthers took a total of three shots, with only one of them on goal. Although the offense was lacking, HPU's defense buckled down. The Monarchs took 27 shots against the Panthers, with 14 on goal. High Point goalkeeper Ellyn Casto recorded a new single-game save record for herself at HPU, saving 11 of ODU's 14 shots on goal. The game ended with a Panther loss, 3-0.

North Carolina State last played Harvard University last Sunday afternoon. The Wolfpack had an early opportunity to score, firing the first shot off after just 11 seconds of play. In the 15th minute, NC State saw a perfect opportunity to score, but shot the ball wide of the goal. Meanwhile, the Crimson took advantage of a penalty kick in the first half, leading 1-0 at intermission. In the 60th minute, Harvard scored again, furthering their lead. NC State was unable to place the ball in the net, falling to Harvard 2-0.

High Point fell to NC State the last time the two played. The Wolfpack came out strong scoring two goals in the first half at the 11th and 27th minute. After half, NC State scored again at the 51st minute. The Panthers retaliated quickly with a goal off a corner kick five minutes later; however, the team wasn't able to find its momentum to chip more off the Wolfpack's lead, ending the game 3-1. High Point has battled NC State 12 times since the first matchup in 2000. The Panthers have taken 11 losses and tied once.

Volleyball

Diet Coke Invitational 
vs Minnesota | Thursday, Sept. 14 | 8:00 pm | Maturi Pavilion
Watch | Livestats
vs Creighton | Friday, Sept. 15 | 6:00 pm | Maturi Pavilion
Watch | Livestats

at Pittsburgh | Sunday, Sept. 17 | 1:00 pm | Fitzgerald Field House
Watch | Livestats

The Panthers hosted the High Point Invitational this past weekend where they played Davidson College and East Tennessee State University. High Point was first matched up against ETSU. The Panthers quickly went to work, obtaining the first set 25-12. The Buccaneers tried to claw their way back in the second, but it was to no avail. HPU won the second set 25-19, with the help of Christine Graf, who scored her 1,000th career kill. The Panthers didn't let the excitement distract them and claimed the third set 25-16, starting the tournament off with a clean sweep. Next, High Point played undefeated Davidson. The Wildcats came out strong, winning the first set 25-22. HPU didn't let this get them down, and claimed the next two sets, 25-21 and 25-23, respectively. With one more set left to secure the dub, and upset their opponent's undefeated title, the Panthers didn't dare let up. BayLea Sparks led the defense in blocks for the fourth set, recording six blocks, four of which happened back-to-back. Sparks' defense helped the Panthers secure the fourth, claiming the victory, and upsetting Davidson's undefeated streak. 

No. 10 University of Minnesota traveled to Palo Alto, Calif., this past weekend to play Pac 12 teams, Oregon University and Stanford University. The Gophers first played No. 6 Oregon. Minnesota took an early lead securing the first set by four points. The Ducks quickly retaliated and won the second set 25-23. Oregon came out swinging and took the second set 25-21. The Gophers buckled down in the fourth, taking the set by five points and pushing the game to five sets. The last set was a hard battle, as neither team was willing to lose, however, Minnesota was able to edge out a 16-14 win over the Ducks. Next up, the Gophers took on Stanford. The Cardinal secured the first set 21-25. Minnesota retaliated, securing the second by six points. Stanford came out firing in the third, beating the Gophers 25-16. The Cardinal held onto that momentum, downing the Gophers in the fourth 25-16.

HPU has yet to play Minnesota, according to the High Point Athletics website. 

Creighton University participated in the MH Hospitality Omaha Challenge this past weekend. The Bluejays were first matched up against the University of Nebraska Omaha. Creighton secured the first set 25-22. Omaha fought back in the second, pushing the game to an even 25-25. With the score tied, UNO had the opportunity to secure the set, but Omaha suffered a service error, followed by a kill from Creighton secured the second for the Bluejays, 27-25. Disheartened, Omaha was unable to buckle down in the third and lost the match 25-12, giving Creighton a clean sweep for the first game of the tournament. Creighton played the Iowa State University Cyclones next. The Bluejays worked quickly to secure the first set, 25-21. Creighton capitalized on their momentum, pulling a 15-8 lead tallying 17 kills, allowing them claim the second 25-19. The Cyclones wasn't going to go down easy, as they fought back in the third. The two teams were tied 17-17, until ISU went on a 5-0 run, which allowed the Cyclones to take the third and avoid a sweep. ISU capitalized on its momentum, leading the fourth 19-13, but Creighton fought back, claiming the fourth set at a narrow 26-24, winning the game and the tournament. 

High Point has not played Creighton before, according to the HPU Athletics website.

The University of Pittsburgh Panthers last played Loyola University Chicago. The Panthers dominated Loyola in the first set, taking an easy 25-14 victory. Loyola fought back in the second, closing the point gap, but still fell to Pittsburgh 25-22. The Panthers made quick work of Loyola in the third, beating them 25-16, securing a clean sweep.

High Point has played Pittsburgh three times since the first matchup in 2018. Last time the two saw each other on the court, the HPU narrowly avoided a Pittsburgh sweep, losing 3-1. High Point has not won a game against Pittsburgh. 

Cross Country

at Virginia Tech Alumni Meet | Friday, Sept. 15 | 5:30 pm

HPU men's cross country finished second at the Elon Opener with three Panthers finishing in the top 20. Senior Hunter Steinau led the team with a time of 17:55.7, landing him in ninth place. Jake Tarosky, another senior, was the next Panther to cross the finish line at 18th place. Rounding out the top 20 for the Panthers was freshman Reuben Kosche, who finished two seconds behind Tarosky in 20th place. 

HPU women's cross country finished second at the Elon Opener as well, with four of the eight runners finishing in the top-10. First across the line, making her collegiate debut, was Brianna Malone. The freshman won Big South Conference Runner of the Week and finished in seventh place with a time of 13:33.5. Katie Taylor was next for the Panthers, landing in eighth place. Paris Stankewich finished right behind Taylor in ninth. Rounding out the top 10 was another freshman, Elizabeth Ritter who finished in 10th place. 

Women's Golf

at Nittany Lion Invitational | Saturday, Sept. 16 | tee-off | Penn State Golf Course
at Nittany Lion Invitational | Sunday, Sept. 17 | tee-off | Penn State Golf Course

HPU had a historic season last year with the team advancing to the Big South Conference Match Play Finals. High Point defeated No. 3 Gardner-Webb in the semifinals, allowing them to move onto the finals where the Panthers would be matched up against No. 1 Campbell. HPU had a rocky start as returner Danielle Suh was defeated in the first matchup. Recent graduate Sarah Kahn and returner Ella Perna were up next. Both girls were able to defeat their opponents, putting High Point in the lead. Unfortunately, returner Vynie Chen and previous-player Freja Ekman were unable to pull through and secure a win, leaving HPU to obtain the runner-up trophy. Despite the second place finish, the tournament was a historic moment for High Point women's golf as it was the first time in program history for the team to make it to the Big South Match Play Finals. Kahn advanced to regional play after her Big South Medalist honors and carded a top-6 finish.