• High Point got two goals in less than a minute from sophomore Becca Rolfe to earn a 2-0 win over Stetson.
• The two goals by Rolfe represent a new single-game high for the sophomore.
• With a 3-0-2 record HPU is off to the best start to a season in program history.
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s soccer team got two late goals from sophomore Becca Rolfe to break a scoreless stalemate and pick up a 2-0 win over Stetson on Friday night at Vert Stadium.
“I really liked the way we came out and played in the second half,” head coach Marty Beall said. “We need to find a way to bring that same intensity to the first half. Stetson is a good team that can knock the ball around and if we didn’t put them under pressure we wouldn’t have been successful. We found feet and created a lot more chances in the second half. I am very pleased with this result.”
With the win, the Panthers are off to the best start in program history at 3-0-2. It is the longest into a season that HPU has gone without a loss, besting the previous long of four games from last season. The loss drops Stetson to 2-3-0 in 2015.
The game between the Panthers and Hatters was scoreless until the 83rd minute when Rolfe notched her first goal of the season with a header off a free kick by sophomore Taylor Romano. HPU drew a foul just over the half line and Romano hit a high ball into the box where Rolfe clipped it up over the keeper from the penalty spot.
Rolfe struck again for her second goal of the game and her second goal of the season less than a minute later to put High Point ahead by the final 2-0 margin. Redshirt-sophomore Bailey Beattie got to the end line on the left flank and whipped a cross in front of goal. Rolfe made a run inside the Stetson defender and deposited the ball into the net from just in front of goal. The two goals for Rolfe represent a new single-game high for the sophomore.
HPU controlled possession throughout the game and finished with a 17-8 advantage in shots and a 6-1 edge in shots on goal.
Freshman Emily Lyon earned her second win in as many starts for the Panthers, making one save to improve to 2-0-0 on the season. Stetson’s Kahri Smith had five saves in the loss for the Hatters.
High Point will host its second-straight team from Florida on Sunday, Sept. 6, when North Florida comes to Vert Stadium for a rematch from a game between the two teams last season. The Panthers came out victorious in a back-and-forth affair with a 4-3 win. Kickoff for the game is set for 2 p.m.