HPU Men’s Soccer Leaves It Late In 1-0 Win Over Gardner-Webb

• Junior Adam Storm broke a 0-0 tie in the 83rd minute with a goal to give High Point the 1-0 win.
• Redshirt-junior Kody Palmer made three saves to record his second shutout of the season.
• High Point moves into a tie for second with Coastal Carolina in the Big South with a 6-1-0 conference mark.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Junior Adam Storm found a goal in the 83rd minute to break a 0-0 tie and give the High Point men’s soccer team a 1-0 win over Gardner-Webb on Saturday night at Vert Stadium. The win over GWU is the Panthers’ third in a row.

“We were very pleased to get the full three points tonight because they are extremely valuable at this point in the league race,” head coach Dustin Fonder said. “We are probably a little more down than we normally would be after a win, but our effort level was high and we just need to execute the way we are capable of. I am proud that the team was able to get the win despite not playing its best.”

High Point and Gardner-Webb were deadlocked at 0-0 in the closing minutes of the match when the Panthers earned a corner kick opportunity. Sophomore Renato Punyed took the kick and sent a looping ball into the box. The ball sailed just over the leaping head of senior Mamadee Nyepon and fell to the feet of Storm who settled it with his first touch before hitting a hard shot into the roof of the net.

The win was HPU’s third in a row and fourth in the past five games, improving the team’s record to 9-6-1 overall and 6-1-0 in the Big South. High Point moves into a tie for second with Coastal Carolina, who the Panthers will face on Tuesday. Gardner-Webb drops to 3-12-1 overall and 1-6-1 in the conference.

High Point earned the bulk of the scoring chances in the game against the Runnin’ Bulldogs, outshooting GWU, 20-6, and putting eight shots on goal compared to three for Gardner-Webb. The Panthers also finished with an 11-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Redshirt-junior Kody Palmer made three saves to earn his second cleansheet of the season. The HPU goalkeeper improves to 6-4-1 on the season with the win. Matthew Swan takes the loss for Gardner-Webb despite making seven saves including two diving stops in the second half to keep the game tied.

High Point will travel to Conway, South Carolina to face Coastal Carolina on Tuesday, Nov. 4, in a game that will have serious seeding implications for the upcoming Big South Tournament. The two teams enter the final week of the regular season tied for second in the conference with matching 6-1-0 records. Kickoff for the match is set for 7 p.m.