HPU’s Kosmidis & Meyer Claim Big South MSOC Weekly Honors

HIGH POINT, N.C. – For the second time this season, a pair of High Point University men’s soccer athletes are being recognized with conference honors, as junior forward Ilias Kosmidis earns his second Big South Attacking Player of the Week distinction this year, and junior goalkeeper Keegan Meyer receives the third Big South Defensive Player of the Week accolade of his career.

Currently sitting atop the Big South conference in both goals (8) and points (18), Kosmidis ranks 11th in all of Division I men’s soccer in both categories, after adding another three tallies against Appalachian State and Winthrop this past week. The junior opened his team’s scoring with a penalty against the Mountaineers, completing his second brace of the season just four minutes into the second half of a 2-0 shutout win. He followed his performance with his second game-winner of the week, putting away his team’s lone tally of the afternoon off a corner kick. Kosmidis finished his week with a total of three goals on just five shots, and has hit the back of the net five times in his previous four appearances.

Riding a three-game shutout streak, Meyer recorded a pair of clean sheets against App State and Winthrop last week, combining for four saves over those two contests. The junior has not given up a goal in 287 consecutive minutes played, and has been perfect in four contests thus far this year. Meyer’s four clean sheets, .88 goals against average and .778 save percentage are all top marks in the conference this season, while his eight wins in goal are tied for the fifth-most in Division I men’s soccer. The Panthers’ everyday keeper already has 17 career clean sheets to his name, while his career 0.86 GAA would be a program D1 record.

HPU is off to one of its best starts since joining Division I in 1999. The club’s 8-1 start is second only to the 9-0 beginning it had in 2012, as the side just earned a No. 29 ranking in Monday’s ‘College Soccer News’ top-30 poll, while receiving votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll this past Tuesday.

The Panthers have had a player honored by the Big South in every week they have competed this 2018 season, as Meyer becomes the sixth HPU player to claim a weekly conference honor in 2018.

Big South Attacking Player of the Week
Ilias Kosmidis | Forward/Midfield | Junior | Thessaloniki, Greece

• Second career Big South Attacking Player of the Week honor
• Scored three goals between two games against App State and Winthrop
• Tallied game-winners against both the Mountaineers and Eagles
• Secured five goals and 11 points over his past four appearances, shooting .555 over that span
• Eight goals and 18 points on the year, are both tied for 11th in Division I men’s soccer

Big South Defensive Player of the Week
Keegan Meyer | Goalkeeper | Junior | Silver Spring, Md.

• Third career Big South Defensive Player of the Week honor
• Posted three straight shutouts, keeping App State and Winthrop scoreless last week
• Four saves between two matches against Mountaineers and Eagles
• Faced 28 shots in team’s current streak of 287 consecutive shutout minutes
• Has a total of 17 clean sheets over his three-year career, while his 0.88 GAA in 2018 is the top mark in the Big South and would rank third-lowest for a single season in D1 program history

The Panthers continue their Big South schedule next week, hosting UNC Asheville and Longwood this coming Wednesday and Saturday respectively. High Point has not lost to either team in a regular season matchup since 2011, while outscoring the pair 36-6 during that span.