Sophomore Kelli Joline (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) headed in a cross from sophomore Sammy Vercellino (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) in the 96th minute to give the High Point University women’s soccer team a 1-0 overtime win over Radford in Big South action on Thursday night at Radford, Va.

“This was a very gritty performance tonight,” head coach Marty Beall said. “I was very pleased with how our team played. Radford is a very good team and a very physical team. They pushed us hard and gave us a great game. I was very pleased that we were able to pick up a critical three points on the road.”

Freshman Alise LeCompte (Crofton, Md./Arundel) started the play for the Panthers with a free kick from 45 yards away from goal into the box that sophomore Becca Hemby (Frederick, Md./Gov. Thomas Johnson) jumped up and flicked on to Vercellino in the left flank. The outside back dribbled in towards the left post before hitting a pass across the face of goal where Joline made a run up the middle and headed in the game winner. The goal was Joline’s team-best seventh of the season.

The win improves High Point’s record on the season to 6-8-3 overall and 4-1-2 in the Big South. The Panthers improve to 1-1-3 in five overtime games this season. The loss was Radford’s first in Big South play this season as the Highlanders fall to 11-4-0 overall and 6-1-0 in the Big South.

Radford had the better of the chances in the first half, outshooting HPU by a 5-2 margin with all five shots on goal. Despite the edge in shots the Highlanders were unable to beat senior keeper Andrea Ritchie (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) who made five saves in the opening 45 minutes.

Neither team was able to gain much of an upper hand following halftime as both teams limited their opponents’ chances in the attacking third. The Panthers held a slight 7-5 edge in shots and had three shots on goal in the period.

HPU controlled play in the overtime period with the only two shots in the extra time on a free kick shot by senior Katie Taber (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) and the goal by Joline.

Ritchie finished the game with six saves to record her third-straight shutout and her fifth clean sheet of the season. The senior netminder has a 0.67 goals-against average in Big South play this season with an .839 save percentage.

High Point finished with a slight 11-10 edge in shots while Radford had a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks.

The Panthers next return home for their final home game of the season on Saturday, Oct. 22 when they play host to VMI at 7 p.m. High Point is 6-2-0 all-time against the Keydets. In the two squads’ meeting last season, HPU set a team single-game record with seven goals in a 7-0 win in Lexington, Va. Saturday’s game will also be High Point’s senior day as the Panthers will honor their senior class with a ceremony before the game.