• High Point picked up a 4-3 win in overtime at NC State on Tuesday night.
• Freshman Jon Bolanos scored the game-winning goal in the fifth minute of overtime.
• Bolanos and freshman Siggi Benonysson both scored twice in the win for HPU.
RALEIGH, N.C. – Freshman Jon Bolanos scored in the fifth minute of overtime to give the High Point University men’s soccer team a 4-3 win on the road at NC State on Tuesday night in Raleigh, N.C.
With the score tied at 3-3 in overtime, freshman Siggi Benonysson hit a high ball into the box where Bolanos controlled it in the middle of a group of players and beat the Wolfpack keeper with a shot from six yards for the game winner.
Bolanos and Benonysson combined to score all four goals for the Panthers who improve to 7-3-2 overall on the season. The Wolfpack fall to 3-9-0 overall with the loss.
“It is always great to get a win over a quality opponent on the road,” head coach EJ O’Keeffe said. “That being said, We need to clean up a lot of things. We were flat for large portions of the night. We showed some fight to come back in the game and I thought at 3-2 we should have closed out the final four minutes but we didn’t. Those are the things that can cost us, thankfully they didn’t tonight. We need to mature and turn onto men on the field.”
NC State took a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute when the Panthers were called for a foul in the box leading to an NC State corner kick. Julius Duchscherer stepped to the spot for the Wolfpack and beat redshirt-freshman Keegan Meyer with a shot into the lower left corner.
High Point needed just seven minutes to answer as Benonysson notched his sixth goal of the season to knot the game at 1-1 in the 28th minute. Sophomore Johnny Fenwick delivered a long ball over the top from the HPU half that Benonysson was able to run onto behind the NC State defense. He dribbled forward before beating the keeper with a chip from the top of the penalty area.
The game remained knotted at 1-1 until the 71st minute when the Wolfpack retook the lead on a goal by Lukas Zarges. NC State’s Jan-Luca Ahillen received a throw in and delivered a cross back to the top of the box from the right end line where Zarges converted with a sliding shot.
The Panthers answered once again in the 80th minute to tie the game at 2-2 on a goal by freshman Jon Bolanos. The freshmans received a ball forward from fellow freshman Ryan Inman and took a touch forward before unleashing a low shot from 25 yards that tucked into the bottom left corner.
Benonysson appeared to find the game winner for High Point in the 86th minute with his second goal of the contest. Bolanos was played into the box and hit a shot that forced a diving save by the Wolfpack keeper; the ball fell to the feet of Benonysson who scored on the empty net to put HPU in front, 3-2.
NC State pressed forward looking for an equalizer and in the 89th minute found one as Travis Wannemuehler converted a far-post run on a cross from the right by Tanner Roberts to tie the contest at 3-3.
The Panthers were outshot for the first time this season as NC State finished with 16 shots compared to 10 for HPU. Meyer made four saves to pick up his sixth win of the season.
High Point returns home and returns to conference play on Saturday, Oct. 15, when the team welcomes UNC Asheville to Vert Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.