HPU Women’s Soccer Earns a 3-0 Home Win Over Longwood

• Sophomore Jenny Marshall, freshman Paige Rombach and freshman Becca Rolfe all found the back of the net for High Point in the 3-0 win.
• Freshmen Jordan Beets and Alex Persiani combined for their sixth shutout of the season and their third in conference play.
• The Panthers have allowed just one goal in 404 minutes of Big South soccer this season.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s soccer team picked up a 3-0 win over Longwood in Big South action on Wednesday night at Vert Stadium. The shutout was the sixth of the season for HPU and the third in four conference games.

“I am very happy for our girls,” head coach Marty Beall said. “I thought they worked extremely hard against a very good team. Longwood is a difficult opponent so for us to score three goals against them gives us a lot of confidence. Our team defending was fantastic. We limited them in so many areas of the field. It is a credit to the hard work that our girls are putting into every game.”

High Point took a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute with sophomore Jenny Marshall’s second goal of the season. The Panthers earned a free kick 35 yards from goal and senior Jacky Kessler took a shot that was saved off the crossbar. The rebound fell to the feet of the on-rushing Marshall who hit her shot past the diving Longwood keeper for the score.

The Panthers doubled their lead just before halftime with a penalty kick goal to go ahead 2-0 with 59 second left in the period. Redshirt-freshman Meghan Beidleman beat the Longwood defense and dribbled around the keeper before being taken down to earn the penalty. Rombach took the kick and beat the keeper with a low shot to the right corner for the goal.

High Point got its third goal on a shot by freshman Becca Rolfe in the 80th minute to go ahead by a score of 3-0. Senior Sarah Sermonet held off two defenders on a pass up the middle and dropped a pass back to Rolfe. The freshman settled the ball with her first touch before hitting a shot from 20-yards out into the bottom left corner for her third goal of the season.

High Point finished with a 15-7 edge in shots and did not allow a shot on goal until the 66th minute. Six different HPU players got off multiple shots in the win. High Point also ended the game with a slim 3-1 advantage in corner kicks.

The Panthers have now allowed just one goal in 404 minutes of Big South soccer this season. Freshmen Jordan Beets and Alex Persiani combined for their sixth shutout of the season and their third in conference play. Beets got the win after playing the first half to improve to 4-2-2. Persiani played the second half and made all three of HPU’s saves to keep the shutout intact. Hailey Machen made two saves for Longwood in a losing effort and dropped to 5-5-1 for the season.

With the win over the Lancers, High Point improves to 5-3-3 overall and 2-1-1 in the Big South. Longwood drops to 6-6-1 overall and 1-3-0 in conference play.

High Point continues its current home stand on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m., when it hosts preseason favorite Liberty at Vert Stadium. The match is part of a Pink Game doubleheader in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness. The men’s team will play Longwood at 7 p.m. at Vert Stadium. The first 100 fans at both games will receive a free pink t-shirt.