No. 11 High Point MLAX Takes Down No. 9 Virginia, 14-13

• Sophomore Asher Nolting tied a career-high with four goals.
• Senior Tim Troutner Jr. made 17 saves in the cage for the Panthers.
• Senior Jake Schleppy scored two goals for HPU

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The High Point University men’s lacrosse team knocked off No. 9 Virginia, 14-13, Monday, Feb. 18, on the road for the team’s second win against a top-10 team in the 2019 season.

High Point (4-0) was 19-24 on clears and grabbed 34 ground balls, while Virginia (1-2) went 14-18 on clears and snagged 46 ground balls. The Panthers put 26-of-40 shots on goal.

Sophomore Asher Nolting led the way for HPU by tying his career-high with four goals. Senior Tim Troutner Jr. was the leader in the cage for the Purple & White with 17 saves, six of which came in the fourth quarter alone. Senior Jake Schleppy and sophomore Taylor Acra scored two goals each for HPU.

“We were up, we were down, the resiliency of this team and the leadership of our seniors right now is as good as I’ve ever seen it,” HPU head coach Jon Torpey said. “I just love the way our guys execute the game plan. Asher [Nolting] plays amazing. Timmy [Troutner Jr.] plays amazing. We got great efforts from guys like Jake Schleppy and Nick Walsh did a great job on his matchup and Davis [Sampere] at the ‘X’. I could sit here and talk about everybody, but all around team effort. I’m unbelievably proud of these guys.”

Junior Nate Carter opened the fourth quarter with his first goal of the season at the 12:32 mark to tie the game at 12 for High Point. Senior Chris Young followed with his 11th goal of the season on a man-up opportunity to give HPU a 13-12 lead with 7:09 remaining in game.

Neither team scored for the next five minutes until redshirt-sophomore Chris Price broke through for his first goal of the season with 2:02 left to give the Purple & White a 14-12 advantage. Virginia responded with a goal from freshman Jeff Conner to cut the Panthers’ lead to 14-13. Virginia attempted a game tying shot at the end of regulation, but Troutner was there to make his 17th save of the night and seal the game for High Point.

Virginia jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the first quarter, but the Panthers responded with a 4-0 run of their own with Nolting, Schleppy, sophomore Taylor Acra and sophomore Koby Russell netting goals for HPU.

Schleppy opened the second quarter with a goal at the 9:10 mark to give HPU a 5-3 lead. The Cavaliers responded with two goals to tie the game at 5. Nolting scored his second goal at with 4:26 remaining in the half to give the Panthers a 6-5 lead. After two Virginia goals, Nolting recorded his third goal to tie the game going into halftime. Troutner had six saves at the break.

Both teams traded goals in the third quarter with junior Ben Baker, junior Dalton Sulver, Nolting and sophomore Taylor Acra scoring goals for HPU. Virginia took 12-11 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Junior Davis Sampere was the leader in the face-off ‘X’ for HPU winning 11-29. Troutner and sophomore Clayton Krol led the Panthers on defense with two caused turnovers and five ground balls.

Up next, the Panthers will host St. John’s on Saturday, Feb. 23. The opening face-off is set for 12 p.m. at Vert Stadium.