The High Point University men’s soccer team scored five goals, including four in the second half, to pick up a 5-0 win over Presbyterian College in Big South action at Vert Stadium on Wednesday night. Freshman Leon Carby (West Hartford, Conn./Watkinson) scored his first collegiate goal and notched an assist in the win.

“We are very pleased to get a win tonight,” head coach Dustin Fonder said. “Any win in conference play is a good win. Presbyterian is a tough team that is very good in transition. I thought we did a good job of limiting that transition attack tonight. We are still not as crisp as we want to be in the attack, but we are seeing signs each week that we are improving.”

The win bumps High Point’s record to 5-7-2 overall and 2-3-1 in the Big South this season. Presbyterian College falls to 2-11-0 overall and 2-3-0 in the Big South following the loss.

The Panthers controlled the run of play from the beginning of the game and took an early 1-0 lead in the fifth minute of action on as senior Karo Okiomah (Austin, Texas/Hendrickson-Pflugerville) scored his fifth goal of the year. Junior Shawn Sloan (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) found Okiomah on the right wing with a ball out of the midfield. The forward beat the PC back before unleashing a laser past the diving Blue Hose keeper to put HPU up 1-0.

The score remained 1-0 until the 62nd minute when a goal by sophomore Alex Martinez (Rock Hill, S.C./Northwestern) doubled the HPU lead to 2-0. Redshirt-junior Ryan Bennett (Cary, N.C./Cary Christian) hit a long ball out of the back up the left side allowing Martinez to run onto it just outside the box. The forward got past the Presbyterian outside back before dribbling up the end line. Despite being grabbed from behind, Martinez slipped a shot between PC keeper Ethan Watson and the left post for his team-best seventh goal of the season. 

The third High Point goal came off the foot of freshman Mamadee Nyepon (Greensboro, N.C./Walter Hines Page) in the 80th minute to put the Panthers up 3-0. Junior Fejiro Okiomah (Austin, Texas/Hendrickson-Pflugerville) hit a ball from the halfline to Nyepon at the top of the box where the forward took one touch around a defender before beating Watson with a shot from 15-yards out. The score was Nyepon’s third of the season.

Just four minutes later, HPU went up 4-0 as Carby scored his first collegiate goal off a pass from redshirt-junior Keith Cowdrey (Silver Spring, Md./DeMatha Catholic). Cowdrey reversed the field with a pass from the right back spot to Carby who was on the left flank just outside the box. The freshman took a touch to the top corner of the box before unleashing a hard shot to the far post for the score.

High Point fifth and final goal of the night came in the 86th minute as junior Shane Malcolm (Sunrise, Fla./Piper) scored his first goal of the season to wrap up the scoring for the Panthers. Redshirt-junior Marty Stern (Little Silver, N.J./Communication) started the play with a pass from the middle of the field to Carby at the top of the box. Carby then laid the ball off to Malcolm who was making a run up the right side. Malcolm dribbled into the right post before hitting a shot from a tight angle that hit off Watson and into the net.

The Panthers controlled the run of play throughout the night, finishing with a 28-5 advantage in shots with 11 shots on goal. HPU also finished with a 10-3 advantage in corner kicks.

Senior Michael Chesler (Highland, Utah/Mountain View) made three saves on the night, including a point-blank stop late in the second half to secure his third shutout of the season. The Panther netminder now has 19 shutouts for his career which is tied for fifth most in Big South history and five shy of the conference record of 24.

Presbyterian College next returns home to face Radford on Saturday, Oct. 22.

High Point returns to the road on Saturday, Oct. 22, when the team will head to Boiling Springs, N.C., to take on the Runnin’ Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb. GWU is 7-6-2 on the season overall and 4-2-0 in the Big South after picking up a 1-0 win at home over UNC Asheville on Wednesday.

The Panthers are undefeated in seven all-time meetings with Gardner-Webb, sporting a 5-0-2 record. Last season, HPU picked up a 4-0 win at home over the Runnin’ Bulldogs thanks in large part to a two-goal, one assist day from Sloan.

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