HPU men’s soccer draws with Elon, 1-1

• High Point and Elon battled to a 1-1 stalemate on Saturday night at Vert Stadium.
• Senior Chris Ramsell scored his team-high fifth goal of the season in the draw.
• The Panthers outshot Elon 23-12 and put eight shots on goal.

(ELON STORY FOLLOWS)

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s soccer team played inter-Triad rival Elon to a 1-1 double-overtime draw on Saturday night at Vert Stadium. Senior Chris Ramsell scored the lone goal of the night for the Panthers.

“I thought the boys did well tonight,” head coach EJ O’Keeffe said. “We came out and were very good in the first 30 minutes or so. We created several good chances but we need to do better than putting just one goal away. Elon is a good program and this was a good college soccer team. We showed great resiliency and character to get a point out there tonight.”

HPU moves to 5-3-2 on the season with the draw while Elon’s record moves to 4-2-3.

High Point got on the board just four minutes in on Ramsell’s fifth goal of the season. Freshman Connor Cesar delivered a cross to the far post from the right flank and Ramsell worked inside his marker before scoring with a shot back across the face of goal.

Elon came back to tie the game at 1-1 in the 31st minute when Nick Adamcyzk dribbled into a pocket of space and hit a cross just in front of goal where Jaiden Fortune hit a glancing header to the far post.

Neither team was able to find a game winner in the second half or either overtime period. Ramsell had the Panthers’ two best chances in the second half with a header on a counter attack that ran just wide of the post and a shot from five yards to the near post that was saved and pushed wide.

Redshirt-freshman Keegan Meyer made five saves in the draw to move to 4-3-2 on the season. The Panthers held Elon to just 12 shots in the games, including six on goal while putting up 23 and eight themselves.

The game between rivals was physical throughout with the two sides combining for 45 fouls and six yellow cards. Elon was called for 24 fouls while HPU was whistled for 21.

High Point remains home this week and will host Longwood in conference action on Wednesday, Oct. 5. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.


Elon Men’s Soccer Earns 1-1 Draw at High Point

HIGH POINT, N.C. – A goal by Jaiden Fortune in the 31st minute helped the Elon University men’s soccer team to a 1-1 draw at High Point in a battle of inter-Triad rivals on Saturday evening, Oct. 1, at Vert Stadium.

BOX SCORE

The draw was Elon’s second straight and moves the Phoenix’s record to 4-2-3 overall. The Panthers went to 5-3-2 on the season.

The Rundown
The Panthers jumped on the board very quickly in the first two minutes of the match. HPU’s Chris Ramsell sent a header past the defense around the six-yard area that eventually found the back right corner of the netting for an early 1-0 lead.

The Phoenix struggled to attack the Panthers in the first 30 minutes of the contest, but was able to break through to tie the match just inside the 31st minute. Fortune headed in his second score of the season thanks to a cross from the right side from Nick Adamczyk. The sophomore striker sent the ball from around eight yards away that slipped past the keeper into the back left side netting to tie the match at 1-1.

Both teams went into the half with that score with High Point being the more dominated team in the opening stanza. The Panthers controlled the shot battle, 9-5, with five coming on goal compared to three for the Phoenix. Elon however had a 3-1 advantage in corners.

During the second half, the Panthers continued to pepper the Phoenix with shots and had a couple of chances on some breakaway counters. The Phoenix defense was able to thwart the chances each time as the game moved into overtime.

In the first overtime session, the Phoenix were held without a shot while also defending the Panthers with some frantic shots. It would be enough to send the match into a second overtime.

Elon’s best opportunity for a golden goal came in the 102nd minute. Taylor Adler was able to maneuver past the defense and fired a shot around 10 yards away. The High Point keeper was able to get a hand on it for a save and a rebound try by the Phoenix went out of play.

Adamczyk had the final shot try for the Phoenix around the 109th minute, but it was again saved by the Panthers’ netminder leading to the final 1-1 score.

Notable
• For the second straight contest and third time overall this season, the Phoenix was outshot in a match losing the shot battle to the Panthers 23-12. High Point also had eight shots on frame while Elon had six.
• Matthew Jegier made six saves in the contest while his counterpart Keegan Meyer corralled the ball five times.
• Elon’s 0-1-2 record in its past three games is its longest winless streak since the 2011 season.
• The match was marred with fouls throughout with 45 combined between both teams. Six yellow cards were also handed out in the match.

Up Next
Elon returns to Colonial Athletic Association action as the maroon and gold takes its first trip to Northeastern next Saturday, Oct. 8. That match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff.