HPU Men’s Soccer Loses On The Road At ETSU, 2-0

• High Point lost at East Tennessee State by a score of 2-0 on Tuesday night in Johnson City, Tenn.
• HPU was outshot 20-5 in the contest with a 7-1 deficit in shots on goal.
• Redshirt-senior Kody Palmer had five saves for the Panthers.

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The High Point University men’s soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision on the road at East Tennessee State on Tuesday night in Johnson City, Tenn. Redshirt-senior Kody Palmer made five saves in the game for HPU.

“I have to give credit to ETSU, they are a very good team,” head coach EJ O’Keeffe said. “They put us under a lot of pressure in the first half and punished us with a goal. We woke up in the second half and created some chances, but we couldn’t finish. We need to clean up our play in front of goal. We have to recover now and get ready for another SoCon test in VMI on Saturday.”

The Panthers drop to 0-1-1 with the loss to ETSU. The Buccaneers evened their record at 1-1-0.

High Point fell behind by a goal in the 20th minute when East Tennessee’s James Smith scored from the top-right corner of the eight-yard box. The ETSU midfielder got the ball at his feet with a defender on his back and used a tight turn to find space and hit a low shot into the net.

High Point came out with more energy in the second half and created a couple very good scoring chances early in the period. Freshman Ben Hietala got in one-on-one with the ETSU keeper but his touch was too heavy at the edge of the box. Later in the half, junior Chris Ramsell and Avery Ryan combined in a two-on-one at the top of the box but a last-ditch defending effort pushed the ball out for a corner.

The score remained 1-0 until the final minute when the Buccaneers added a goal by Cameron Woodfin with 18 seconds left to secure the win. Mitchell Cecatiello broke away as HPU pressed forward looking for an equalizer. Senior Erien Campbell streaked across to block his shot, but Woodfin pounced on the rebound and slotted a shot just inside the far post.

The Panthers were outshot 20-5 in the game, including a 7-1 deficit in shots on goal. Palmer had five saves on the night with two coming on an impressive display in which he made a save falling to his left then recovered to make a sprawling save to his right on the follow by ETSU.

High Point returns to Vert Stadium for its home opener on Saturday, Sept. 5, when the team hosts VMI at 7 p.m. It is the first game between the Panthers and Keydets since VMI left the Big South.