HPU women’s soccer advances to Big South Semifinals with 1-0 over Charleston Southern

• High Point advanced to the Big South Semifinals with a 1-0 win over eighth-seeded Charleston Southern on Sunday.
• The win is HPU’s 12th of the season and it ties the program single-season record.
• Junior Paige Rombach scored her first goal of the season to give the Panthers the win.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s soccer team earned a 1-0 win over eighth-seeded Charleston Southern in the Big South Quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon at Vert Stadium. Junior Paige Rombach scored the lone goal of the match for HPU.

“I am very happy with how the team played this afternoon,” head coach Marty Beall said. “Charleston Southern came out and played a different system than they did against us during the regular season and it caused us some difficulties. I thought we did a good job of adjusting and dominated every aspect of the second half. We created several good scoring chances and I am thankful we were able to put one away to advance to the semifinals.”

The win by High Point was the team’s 12th of the season, tying the program’s single-season record for wins. It is the third-straight season that HPU has won 12 games. The Panthers improve to 12-5-3 overall while Charleston Southern ends the season with a 6-11-1 record.

The game was scoreless until the 82nd minute when Rombach scored to break the stalemate. Junior Michele Micciche delivered a ball into the box that was headed on by redshirt-junior Bailey Beattie to Rombach who was making the run to the right post. The midfielder took a touch before slotting in a near-post shot for her first goal of the season.

The Panthers limited Charleston Southern to just one shot in the second half and finished with a 23-6 edge in shots for the game. HPU put six shots on target while allowing just two shots on target by the Buccaneers.

Junior Alex Hank picked up her ninth shutout of the season, improving to 11-5-2 on the season. The goalkeeper had two saves to earn the clean sheet.

High Point advances on to the Big South Semifinals where the team will take on No. 5-seed Longwood on Friday, Nov. 4, at 4 p.m., at Bryan Park in Greensboro, N.C. The two teams played to a 0-0 draw at Vert Stadium earlier this season.