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Men's Soccer Drops Final Regular Season Match 2-0 to High Point

LEXINGTON, Va. - The Keydet's men's soccer team headed into it's final regular season match against the High Point Panthers on Wednesday looking to secure the sixth seed in the Big South Tournament next week. However, the Panthers came into Lexington and earned their first win of the season by defeating the Keydets 2-0 in a back and forth match at Patchin Field.

"There was just no flow for our team today," said VMI head coach Stephen Ross. "We didn't put the ball on feet, and also didn't work well off the ball. But give High Point credit, they played well enough to win."

Things started off very quickly in the game as High Point was rewarded with a penalty kick in just the fifth minute of play after a foul inside the box. Keydets goalkeeper John Sollock responded to the challenge as he made a diving save off Chris Archer's penalty kick attempt to keep the match scoreless.

The Panthers, however, didn't let that bother them as they capitalized in the seventh minute when Archer received a pass in the middle from Patrick Althoff, took one quick dribble and fired a shot past Sollock to give the Panthers an early 1-0 lead.

And yet after a quick start, the rest of the game seemed to lack consistency from both sides, as neither team could get things going. Over 80 minutes ticked off the clock until High Point sealed the victory when Dan Haywood took a ball from midfield and went the distance, slipping a shot past Sollock for his sixth of the season, and securing his team's first victory of the season.

The Keydets finish the regular season with a 7-9-1 mark, and 1-6 in the Big South, while the Panthers improve to 1-12-3, and 1-5-1 in the Big South.

Despite the 2-0 score, the game was very much even throughout the entire 90 minutes. Both teams took 16 shots in the contest as well as seven corner kicks, while the Panthers edged the Keydets in fouls, 21-19. Sollock recorded a season-high eight saves in the loss, while Panther's keeper Adam Ross grabbed seven.

"We need to get our attitude back on track real quick with a loss like we had today," said Ross. "It's critical to see how we are going to react, we just need to get back to work and put this loss aside."

Prior to the game, the Keydets took time to honor its two senior student-athletes, Kevin Aldrich and Kyle Fricke, for their dedication and commitment to the program. Both are four year members of the team, and are also exemplary figures off the field and in the classroom.

The Keydets now have one week to get ready for the Big South Championship, which begins on Thursday, Nov. 10 with first round action at High Point University in High Point, N.C. Game time and seed is pending the results of the remaining Big South matches this week.

"Everybody has that attitude that it's a clean slate (once the tournament begins)," added Ross. "We know we match up well with most teams in the conference, it's just a matter of if we show up and get the job done."

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