BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The High Point University men’s soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision to Campbell on the road in Buies Creek, N.C., on Wednesday night. Senior Fejiro Okiomah scored the lone goal of the night for the Panthers.
Down three starters heading into the contest, HPU still managed to outshoot Campbell by a 17-11 margin and finish with a 6-1 edge in corner kicks. Despite the advantage in possession, the Panthers were unable to overcome a Campbell scoring burst that saw the Camels score twice in a four minute span.
“Overall I thought that this group showed an exceptional amount of fight tonight,” head coach Dustin Fonder said. “We came here with a depleted squad and battled valiantly. We just didn’t take our chances on the night and they did. We got some positive minutes for guys who haven’t played as much so when we get our guys back in the fold we will have a deeper team come tournament time.”
The loss drops the Panthers’ record on the season to 11-2-1 overall and 4-1-1 in the Big South. Campbell improves to 9-4-1 overall and 4-3-0 in conference play.
High Point came out on the offensive to start the second half, putting up four shots in the first seven minutes of play. The pressure led to a penalty kick for the Panthers in the 55th minute after a foul in the box. Adam Sewell stepped up to take the kick, sending it toward the left post, but his attempt was stopped with a diving save by the CU keeper.
Campbell broke the scoreless tie in the 70th minute when the Camel’s Jhuvon Francis hit a bending shot from just outside the box. The ball took a slight deflection and went in to give Campbell the 1-0 lead. The Camels then doubled the lead four-minutes later when Ricki Gaez managed to split the center backs and beat HPU keeper Kody Palmer with a chip shot to go ahead 2-0.
High Point got a goal back in the 88th minute when Okiomah headed home a corner kick to make the final score 2-1. Keith Cowdrey took the kick and bent it into the box where Okiomah outmuscled the defender and hammered a header into the net.
High Point returns home on Saturday, Oct. 20, to wrap up its home schedule against Radford University. HPU is 6-10-2 all-time against the Highlanders. Saturday will also serve as High Point’s senior day.