HPU seeks second straight men's soccer championship
Nov. 13—HIGH POINT — Having shut down Campbell's potent offense once this season, the High Point University men's soccer team will seek to do it again in pursuit of a second straight Big South tournament championship today.
The Panthers (8-6-3) blanked the Camels (14-3-1) as they battled to a 0-0 tie on Oct., 30, one of eight shutouts for HPU in nine games against conference foes this season.HPU has allowed one goal in conference play all season, a record low.
The scoreless outing was one of three suffered by a Campbell offense that ranks second in the nation in goal per game at 2.68 and second in total goals at 51. Campbell striker Tyler Young leads the Camels with 9 goals and 9 assists for 27 points, the best in the big South
The tie was also the only blemish on Campbell's conference regular-season record of 7-0-1. HPU also escaped suffering a loss in conference play, going 5-0-3.
"They're a really good team," HPU head coach Zach Haines said. "They went undefeated in the conference and so did we.Our game in the regular season, we were missing a few guys and we showed a lot of grit and determination to get a clean sheet and then we had some chances of our own."
The Camels, coached by former HPU coach Dustin Fonder, scored a season-high seven goals in defeating Winthrop 7-0 in their semifinal match Wednesday. HPU also put together its best offense output of the season in the semis, defeating Gardner-Webb 5-0.
HPU is in the conference final for the third time in three seasons under Zach Haines. The Panthers lost at Campbell in 2019 and defeated USC Upstate 3-1 last spring at Vert Stadium for the program's first tournament title. Today's match is in Buies Creek at 1 p.m..
"We showed in the regular season where both programs are," Haines said. "It should be a great match."
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