• HPU limited Liberty to one goal, marking the second time in program history the Panthers have held an opponent to a single goal
• Sophomore Erica Perrrotta led High Point with five points (3g, 2a)
• HPU has now allowed just seven goals over its past three games
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s lacrosse team tied a program-low for goals allowed during a stellar 19-1 victory over visiting Liberty on Wednesday afternoon inside Vert Stadium.
High Point (9-4, 5-0) held Liberty (2-12, 1-4) without a goal over the game’s first 43 minutes and led 16-0 before the score by the Flames. It marked the first time since a 19-1 victory vs. Howard on April 1, 2011, that the Panthers held an opponent to just a single goal in a game. The defensive drought also marked the longest High Point has ever gone in a game without allowing a score.
HPU has allowed just seven goals total in its last three contests.
“Going into the game we wanted to work on some of the elements of our game we weren’t executing,” head coach Lyndsey Boswell said. “Today we finished our shots, came up with big draw controls and I think we did a good job of starting the game strong and giving ourselves the momentum in the first 10 minutes. There wasn’t any drop off when our starters left the game and it’s a great feeling to watch everyone produce on our roster.”
The Panthers held sizable advantages in shots (30-9), ground balls (26-17) and assists (12-0) in the contest vs. the Lady Flames.
Sophomore Erica Perrotta tied her career high with five goals on three goals and two assists, while senior Allie Foard registered four goals, all of which came in the game’s first 13 minutes.
Senior Emily Meier tied a career best with four assists while junior Samantha Brown returned from injury to tally three helpers off the bench for the Purple & White. In addition, senior Natalie Devine reached a new career best with three points (2g, 1a) while sophomore Brooke Stevens and freshman Valerie Pelling hit career bests with two goals each in the contest.
In the midfield and defensive units, senior Leah Pace picked up a game-high four ground balls while senior Tori Dunster (3) and sophomore Christina Del Sesto (2) led the Panthers in caused turnovers.
Freshman goaltender Molly Andrews played 45:17 in goal for HPU and made two saves, while fellow freshman stopper Victoria Lomangino played the final 14:43 and made two saves and allowed no goals during her time in the cage.
HPU led 12-0 at the half behind a superb performance on both sides of the field. High Point’s senior leadership played an important role in the first half, as Foard tallied four goals in 13 minutes and Meier assisted on four straight scores midway through the frame.
After allowing the Liberty goal at the 17:03 mark of the second half, HPU shut out the Lady Flames for the rest of the contest. During the second half stretch, the Panthers received contributions from across the roster, including the first career point by freshman Maggie Williams.
With the victory, HPU improves to 5-0 in Big South play for the second time in the first three years of the conference’s existence. The Panthers are now 18-0 all-time at home against Big South opponents.
High Point returns to action Saturday in the team’s 2016 home finale versus Radford. First draw on senior night between HPU and RU is scheduled for 7 p.m.