HPU Men’s Soccer Picks Up 3-0 Road Win at Presbyterian College

Mamadee Nyepon, Renato Punyed and Irvin Ramirez all scored for High Point in the 3-0 win.
• HPU outshot Presbyterian College, 14-4, and held the Blue Hose without a shot on goal.
• The Panthers remain undefeated in Big South play with the road win.

CLINTON, S.C. – The High Point University men’s soccer team scored three first-half goals on its way to a 3-0 win over Presbyterian College on Friday night in Clinton, South Carolina. The Panthers improve to 2-0-0 in the conference with the win over the Blue Hose.

“I was pleased with the team’s performance tonight,” head coach Dustin Fonder said. “We played very disciplined soccer, especially in the first half. We were organized defensively, had good communication and good ball movement. I thought we executed very well in all phases of the game.”

High Point took a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute on senior Mamadee Nyepon’s team-best seventh goal of the season. Junior Austin Yearwood found space in the left corner and crossed a ball to the near post. Junior Ben Burdon touched the ball on to the back post where Nyepon tapped it in from the doorstep.

Nyepon played distributor on the Panthers second goal with a dropback pass to Punyed who scored to put HPU ahead 2-0 in the 36th minute. Nyepon dribbled into the box from the left and drew two defenders before laying off a pass to Punyed. The sophomore ripped a shot with his first touch that rifled into the upper 90 for the goal.

High Point got a third goal just before halftime on freshman Irvin Ramirez‘s first collegiate goal in the 41st minute. Fellow freshman Ebe Kudolo threaded a through ball to Ramirez in the box who then beat the keeper one-on-one with a low shot to the left.

Freshman David Price went untested on the night as he earned his second clean sheet of the season. Price improved to 2-1-0 in goal for High Point. Johnny Archer made seven saves in the loss for the Blue Hose to drop to 1-5-0.

High Point finished the game with a 14-4 edge in shots and a 10-0 advantage in shots on goal.

With the road win, High Point moves back to .500 on the season at 4-4-1. Presbyterian College drops to 1-7-0 with the loss.

The Panthers continue Big South play on Tuesday, Oct. 7, when they head to Lynchburg, Virginia to take on Liberty University. Kickoff for the game is set at 6 p.m.