HPU Women’s Soccer Panthers Fall to No. 2 UNC in NCAA Tournament

• High Point saw its season come to an end with a 3-0 loss to No. 2 North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Senior goalkeeper Alex Hank made six saves, giving her the school record with 262 saves in her illustrious career.
• The Panthers finished the season at 13-8-1, tying the program record for most wins in a single season.

CARY, N.C. – A historic campaign for the High Point University women’s soccer team came to an end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon, falling 3-0 to No. 2 North Carolina at WakeMed Soccer Park.

“This was a great season for us and I’m proud of our girls,” head coach Marty Beall said. “Thirteen wins ties a program record. We won the regular season championship, which is the hardest thing to do, and then we turn around and win the conference tournament. I can’t speak highly enough of this team and how resilient they’ve been all year. Today, we battled really hard and I’m proud of the effort we put forth. UNC is just really, really good and they got on the end of every scramble in the box and were able to put some away.”

High Point (13-8-1) finished the season by equaling the school record for victories in a single season. The team had won its past seven games entering Saturday’s contest, tied for the longest win streak in school history.

The 15-member senior class finishes their careers with 50 wins, the most of any four-year class since HPU went Division I in 1999. The unit won two Big South tournament titles, advanced to a pair of NCAA Tournaments, and collected a pair of Big South regular season titles.

Senior goalkeeper Alex Hank made six saves in the contest, cementing her name atop every major goalkeeping category in HPU history. The six stops gave her 262 for her career and moved her past Marisa Abbott for the most in school history. Hank previously had already laid claim to the school record for wins, shutouts, and goals-against average.

The No. 2 Tar Heels (16-2-2) were in control for a majority of the match, holding a 24-0 edge in shots. UNC jumped on top early, earning seven corner kicks in the game’s first 15 minutes. The Heels scored first in the sixth minute on a shot from the top of the box by Abby Elinsky that was sent high right side.

North Carolina added goals in the 39th minute from Julia Ashley and in the 69th minute from Morgan Goff, both off scrambles in the box following set pieces.

Overall, High Point’s team defending was able to nullify numerous chances for North Carolina. Of UNC’s 24 attempts, seven were blocked by the Panthers and just 10 were on target. Hank made six stops and sophomore Talia Klimes made one save after coming on in the 81st minute.

North Carolina advances to the second round of the NCAA tournament where they await the winner of Colorado and Denver. High Point will turn its attention to next season, when it will have to replace nearly half of its roster and the winningest class in school history.