HPU Men’s Soccer Blanks Presbyterian College In 0-0 Draw

• High Point and Presbyterian College drew, 0-0, on a rainy Friday night.
• The Panthers outshot Presbyterian by a 25-4 margin and put nine shots on target.
• Redshirt-senior Kody Palmer set a new HPU Div. I record with his 21st career shutout.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s soccer team played Presbyterian College to a 0-0 draw on a wet and windy night at Vert Stadium on Friday. The shutout was the third in a row for High Point.

“I thought we created some great opportunities tonight but we just couldn’t find the back of the net,” head coach EJ O’Keeffe said. “I have to give a lot of credit to Presbyterian College, they defended extremely well. We were a bit unfortunate on the night but that’s the game of football. We need to bury some of those chances to put teams away. Hopefully this will be a learning experience for us.”

The Panthers move to 3-3-3 overall and 1-0-1 in the Big South with the tie while Presbyterian College goes to 0-8-1 and 0-1-1.

Redshirt-senior Kody Palmer set a new HPU Div. I record with the 21st shutout of his career, his fifth in the first nine games of the season. Palmer stopped three shots to pick up the clean sheet. The Panthers have not allowed a goal in their past 299 minutes of soccer, posting three-straight shutouts over UNC Greensboro, UNC Asheville and Presbyterian College.

High Point dominated possession throughout the evening and finished the contest with a 25-4 edge in shots that included a 9-3 advantage in shots on goal. HPU also had seven corners on the night compared to just three for the Blue Hose.

The best scoring chances for High Point came at the end of regulation and in the first overtime period as junior Chris Ramsell struck the crossbar in the 89th minute and redshirt-senior Colscon Wiley hit the post in the 98th.

With time running out in regulation, Ramsell dribbled himself into space before unleashing a hard shot from 20 yards. The attempt beat the keeper but clanged off the bottom of the crossbar. In the first overtime, Wiley controlled a deflected cross on the left side of the box and curled a shot that looked like the game winner until it caromed off the inside of the far post and was cleared.

High Point remains home for its next contest when the team will host Laurel University at Vert Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 4. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.