The High Point University women’s soccer team battled Navy to a scoreless tie to open the 2011 season on Friday night at Vert Stadium. The Panthers outshot Navy 7-1 in extra time but were unable to find the game winner. “It was a great battle here tonight,” head coach Marty Beall said. “Navy is very athletic and they put us under a solid amount of pressure. We started the game a little nervous but we settled down and as the game progressed we did some great stuff. I was very proud of our effort tonight.” Sophomore Becca Hemby (Frederick, Md./Gov. Thomas Johnson) had two good looks at goal in the overtime period, sending one shot off the crossbar in the 94th minute and having another saved by Navy keeper Alexes Lopez-Shaw in the 107th minute. HPU controlled possession for long stretches of the game but struggled to breakdown a very composed Navy defense during regulation. Freshman Jacky Kessler (Middletown, Md./Middletown) had the Panthers best scoring opportunity during regular time when her header off a corner kick was saved by Lopez-Shaw in the final minute of the first half. Andrea Ritchie (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) did well to keep the Midshipmen off the board, making three saves including a fingertip stop on a free kick by Fallon Puppolo from 20-yards out in the 55th minute. Ritchie just managed to push the ball over the crossbar to maintain the cleansheet. Hemby led all players with three shots in the game, including two on frame while Puppolo and Ashlynn Soellner each had two shots for Navy. High Point hits the road for the next four games beginning with a contast at Francis Marion on Sunday, Aug. 21 at 4 p.m. Last season, the Panthers earned a 1-0 win over the Patriots at home in both teams’ season opener. Hemby scored the game winner for HPU.