HPU MLAX Panthers Picked to Finish Second in SoCon; Nolting & Troutner Earn Preseason Honors

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s lacrosse team was picked to finish second in the Southern Conference (SoCon) in the 2019 preseason poll, while sophomore Asher Nolting and senior Tim Troutner garnered Preseason All-SoCon honors.

Nolting was the first player in SoCon history to be named SoCon Offensive Player of the Year and SoCon Freshman of the Year in the same season during the 2018 campaign. He is coming off a year where he scored 30 goals and grabbed 26 ground balls. The 66 points he tallied set the HPU and SoCon single-season record. The Greenwood Village, Colo. native was the only SoCon player to be named to the 2018 Tewaraaton Award Watch List, and is the first player in High Point and SoCon history to record a 30-goal, 30-assist campaign. He logged a career-high four goals against VMI on April 13, 2018, leading the conference in points per game (4.71) and assists per game (2.57) as a freshman.

Troutner earned All-SoCon Second-Team honors and finished second in the conference with a .532 save percentage in his 2018 campaign. He made double-digit saves in seven of his 11 starts in 2018 and earned SoCon Defensive Player of the Month for April. He was second on the team in ground balls at 37, making a career-high 22 saves against Jacksonville in the SoCon Tournament.

HPU received one first-place vote and 39 points in the 2019 preseason poll, coming just behind the University of Richmond [48] for the top-spot in this year’s rankings. The Panthers finished the 2018 season with a share of the SoCon Regular Season Championship, ending last season with a 6-8 overall record and a 6-1 conference record. The Purple & White led the Big South in saves per game at 13.00 and shots on goal per game at 23.14 last season.

Air Force (37) was the coaches’ third pick, while Jacksonville (36) was chosen fourth and took a single first-place vote. Furman (24) came in fifth followed by Bellarmine in sixth. Mercer (16) and VMI (7) finished seventh and eighth, respectively to round out the annual poll.

The Panthers will open the 2019 season on Feb. 2 as they welcome St. Bonaventure to Vert Stadium at 11 a.m.

2019 Preseason Southern Conference Coaches Poll

Rank  Team (1st-place votes)      Total
1.    Richmond (6)                 48
2.    High Point (1)               39
3.    Air Force                    37
4.    Jacksonville (1)             36
5.    Furman                       24
6.    Bellarmine                   17
7.    Mercer                       16
8.    VMI                           7

2019 Preseason All-Southern Conference team
A     Asher Nolting, High Point
A     Eric Applegate, Jacksonville
A     Teddy Hatfield, Richmond
M     Cameron Carter, Air Force
M     William Holcomb, Furman
M     Mitch Savoca, Richmond
D     Brandon Jones, Air Force
D     Dixon Smith, Jacksonville
D     Jason Reynolds, Richmond
D     Kyle Walsh, VMI
GK    Tim Troutner Jr., High Point
FO    Trent Harper, Air Force
SSM   Tate Gallagher, Richmond
LSM   Michael O’Brien, Mercer