HPU MSOC Panthers Big South Tournament Ends In Penalties

• No. 13 High Point University men’s soccer held visiting Campbell scoreless for 110 minutes before falling in its Big South semifinal matchup in penalties
• The Camels outscored the Panthers 3-2 in PKs, to move on to the finals against No. 3 Presbyterian this weekend
• Keegan Meyer made five saves on the night, with an additional stop in penalties. He now has seven clean sheets for the season, and 20 for his career

HIGH POINT, N.C. – No. 13 High Point University men’s soccer saw its run toward a Big South tournament championship end Wednesday night, falling to visiting Campbell 3-2 in penalties. Both sides were held scoreless through 110 minutes of regulation, as a trio of stops from the Camel goalkeeper secured a semifinal win for the visitors.

“Soccer, especially tournament soccer, can be a funny game.” said Head Coach EJ O’Keeffe. “I thought we did well in controlling large portions of the match. Unfortunately we weren’t able to find the end product on the chances we created… We will learn from this and grow as a group. I’m excited to get back out on the field with this team, as we prepare for the NCAA Tournament.”

Starting Panther goalkeeper Keegan Meyer played an outstanding match against the fourth-seeded Camels, finishing his night with five saves for the 20th clean sheet of his three-year career. Meyer was tested early with the visiting side getting a pair on target in the first 45. But the Panthers would get their opportunities as well, with a header from Jonathan Bolanos providing the most dangerous chance of the first half, off a corner delivery from Ryan Inman.

High Point continued to create chances off of set pieces, with defender Johnny Fenwick coming within a yard of his second goal of the season in the second half. A corner from midfielder Josh Baker met the captain’s head just above the six-yard box but the attempt was unable to hit the frame.

With the score even at 0-0, the Panthers were forced to go into extra time against the Camels for the second time this year, with Campbell upping its pressure final 20 minutes of play. Meyer made three stops in extra minutes alone to keep the Camels scoreless, including an outstanding save on a rebound in the 104th minute.

The top-seeded Panthers would see their tournament run end in penalties for a second straight year however, as PK finishes from Inman and Fenwick were not enough to overcome three tallies from the Campbell staff.

Coming into Wednesday’s match ranked as high as 13th, High Point’s match against Campbell will not be the last of their 2018 campaign, as the Panthers await an at-large bid into the NCAA Men’s College Soccer Championship Tournament, this selection Monday, November 12th.

>> The Camels committed 28 fouls against the Panthers, the most any team has recorded against HPU this season
>> The Panthers ranked as high as 12th this year, the highest any HPU program has been ranked in the history of the school’s Division I history.
>> This year’s squad awaits a bid to the NCAA Tournament, to become the first Panthers men’s soccer program to reach the championship tourney in history.