#18/#25 High Point MSOC Clinches Big South Regular Season Title in Style with 5-1 Win

Site: High Point, N.C. (Vert Stadium)
Score: #18/#25 High Point 5, Longwood 1
Records: #18/#25 High Point (9-1, 7-0), Longwood (2-6-1, 1-4-1)
Next HPU Event: Thurs., April 8th –vs UNC Asheville, 7:00 PM (High Point, N.C.)

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The #18/#25 High Point University men’s soccer team clinched the 2020-21 Big South regular-season title with its 5-1 victory over Longwood on Saturday (April 3rd) night. Sebastian Chalbaud scored a brace for the Panthers in the victory. Also scoring in the win were Alex Abril, Mason Marcey, and MD Myers who had a goal and an assist. This is the third regular-season Big South title in four seasons for the Panthers, with the last title coming in 2018 dramatically against PC. In 2021, the Panthers clinch their fourth Big South regular-season title in program history.

“I am proud of the guys, they did it in style tonight, they were hungry they did not want to rest on their laurels and make this is a difficult game and something we had to grind out,” Coach Zach Haines said after the 5-1 win. “They wanted to come out and put it to rest early they played so well tonight on both sides of the ball, they played so well, had a great start, and allowed us to play everyone in the group. This is well deserved because these guys have all worked so hard top-to-bottom. In the game that clinches a conference championship to see your entire squad out there enjoying and playing minutes is a great feeling. I am extremely proud.”

High Point got the scoring started early as Alessandro Sobacchi lifted a ball into the box that found the head of Abril in the 12th minute. Abril put the Panthers on top 1-0. Abril picked up his fifth goal of the season. It was an early attack for HPU that paid off as High Point started the game off by applying tremendous offensive pressure to the Lancers in the early going.

HPU kept their foot on the gas as they were able to find a second goal in the first half. A wonderful sequence of passes from Myers and then Nick Phipps put Chalbaud in a great position to put away the second goal of the game for the Purple & White in the 25th minute. The reigning and defending Big South Defensive Player of the week Phipps picked up an assist for the second straight game. Phipps also helped get it done on the defensive side as HPU only allowed one goal while limiting the Lancers to only five shots in the entire contest.

Chalbaud did not let the half end without picking up the brace in the contest, he found his second goal of the game in the 39th minute to put HPU up 3-0 as he finished low right off of a feed from Brady Francher.

In the second half, the Panthers added two more goals as the finality of the Big South clinching decision became more evident. The MD Myers goal-scoring tour continued as the sophomore started the scoring in the second half. In the 52nd minute, Myers buried the panthers’ fourth goal of the night off an assist from Caco Fernandez. The sophomore has scored an incredible 11 goals on the season.

Goal number five came from deep as the senior, Marcey fired a rocket of a free-kick into the back of the net in the 59th minute. Marcey provided the exclamation mark on an exciting evening for the Panthers as they clinched their fourth Big South regular-season title in program history and the third in four years.

UP NEXT: The #18/#25 Panthers host UNC Asheville at home inside Vert Stadium on Thursday night, (April 8th) at 7:00 PM.