HPU Women’s Soccer Ends The Regular Season With A 2-1 Win At Campbell

• Freshman Aley Kate McKinley scored the game-winning goal in the 84th minute for High Point.
• Senior Jacky Kessler played a role in both Panther goals with a score and an assist.
• High Point finishes the regular season with a 10-4-3 overall record and a 7-2-1 mark in the Big South, tied for second in the conference.

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Freshman Aley Kate McKinley scored the game-winning goal as the High Point University women’s soccer team picked up a 2-1 win on the road at Campbell on Tuesday night. The win was HPU’s fifth-straight to end the regular season.

“I am very happy for our girls tonight,” head coach Marty Beall said. We battled hard against a very good Campbell team on the road. I think we grew up a little bit tonight which is a plus for us but unfortunately for the fourth-straight game we gave up a soft goal. That is something we need to tighten up. Overall it was a great performance and I am proud that this team was able to end the regular season with 10 wins.

McKinley scored in the 84th minute to put High Point ahead, 2-1. Senior Jacky Kessler dribbled past a defender on the left side and hit a cross to the near post where McKinley redirected it to the far post for the goal. It was HPU’s third game-winning goal in the final 10 minutes in the last three games.

With the win, High Point finishes the regular season with a 10-4-3 overall record and a 7-2-1 record in the Big South. Campbell drops to 7-7-3 and 5-3-2 in the Big South.

High Point controlled the run of play early with six shots, including four on frame, in the first 20 minutes, but it was Campbell that found the first goal of the game in the 26th minute to go up 1-0. Ashley Clark received a ball from Ashley Hartert off an HPU goal kick and chipped it over an onrushing Jordan Beets for the score.

The Panthers came back to tie the game at 1-1 in the 33rd minute on a goal by Kessler, her fourth of the season. Redshirt-freshman Meghan Beidleman split the Campbell central defenders and was in on goal, but the Campbell keeper Alexis Connors came off her line saved the shot with a sprawling effort. Kessler ran onto the rebound and shot into the empty net with her first touch to tie the game.

Freshman Alex Persiani earned the win in goal for High Point after a scoreless second half in which she made two saves. She improves to 5-1-1 on the season. Samantha Lawson replaced Connors in goal late in the game and took the loss, dropping to 1-5-1 for the season.

High Point ends the regular season in a tie for second in the Big South and enters the Big South Tournament as the No. 3 seed. The Panthers will host No. 6-seed Winthrop in the Big South Quarterfinals on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 2 p.m. HPU picked up a 1-0 win in double overtime at Winthrop in the teams’ meeting earlier this season.