The High Point University women’s soccer team battled Campbell to a 0-0 tie Big South action on Thursday night at Vert Stadium. The Panthers held the conference’s top scoring team without a goal for its fourth shutout of the season.

“I thought we were fantastic tonight once we settled down after the first 15 minutes,” head coach Marty Beall said. “We started connecting passes and created some very dangerous chances. Unfortunately we didn’t finish them. For the second-straight game our team defending was great. We really limited Campbell’s dangerous chances.”

HPU improves to 5-8-3 overall and 3-1-2 in the Big South with the scoreless draw while Campbell moves to 9-3-2, and 3-0-2 in the Big South.

High Point finished the game with an 18-14 edge in shots with both teams putting five shots on goal. Sophomore Becca Hemby (Frederick, Md./Gov. Thomas Johnson) led HPU with five shots in the game including three on frame while sophomore Kelli Joline (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) and freshman Jacky Kessler (Middletown, Md./Middletown) each put up three shots.

Senior Andrea Ritchie (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) finished with five saves to pick up her second-straight clean sheet and her fourth of the season. The senior now has a 0.78 goals-against average and three shutouts in five Big South contests this season.

Campbell looked dangerous early had two good looks at goal in the 29th minute, but was unable to beat Ritchie for the game’s first score. Freshman Ashley Clark, the Big South’s leading scorer with nine goals, got free on the left side of the box and hit a hard low shot to the far post but Ritchie laid out to make the one-handed save. The ball remained in the box and was put back on goal by Kirsty Meyer where it popped off the crossbar and was controlled by Ritchie.

Just five minutes later, High Point had its best scoring chance of the opening 45 minutes when Hemby pulled down a cross six-yards in front of net and immediately hit a shot towards the left post. Campbell keeper Ryan Torrero got low to deny Hemby and keep the game knotted at 0-0.

After halftime, HPU picked up its offensive pressure, outshooting the Camels 8-4, but could still not beat Torrero who made three saves in the period. Hemby had two shots on frame in the opening eight minutes of the second half that were both stopped by the Camel keeper.

Campbell almost found a goal against the run of play in the 65th minute the when Clark again found space in the box and hit a hard shot to the far side. Ritchie proved up to the task again pushing her shot out of the box with her second diving save of the evening.

With neither team able to find a goal in regulation the contest went into extra time still tied 0-0. The Panthers pushed the action in the overtime periods with a 6-3 advantage in shots and three corner kicks. Joline put up all three of her shots in the extra time including a chip shot that ran just over the crossbar and a shot on goal from 10-yards out that was saved by Torrero.

High Point will get a week off before travelling to Radford, Va., to take on the Highlanders of Radford University on Thursday, Oct. 20. Radford currently leads the Big South with a perfect 5-0-0 record after a 1-0 home win over Gardner-Webb on Thursday. Last season, the Highlanders picked up a 1-0 win over the Panthers thanks to six saves by eventual Freshman of the Year Che Brown.

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