mendoza at high point
Andy Mead
11
VMI VMI 0-1
19
Winner High Point Panthers HPUM 1-0
VMI VMI
0-1
11
Final
19
High Point Panthers HPUM
1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
VMI VMI 1 4 3 3 11
High Point Panthers HPUM 5 6 5 3 19

Game Recap: Lacrosse |

VMI Lacrosse falls to High Point in season opener

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The VMI Lacrosse team kicked off the 2026 season Saturday afternoon following a one-week delay and battled hard against High Point but ultimately fell by a 19-11 score at Vert Stadium in High Point, North Carolina.
 
Game Summary
The Keydets (0-1) fell behind early as the Panthers (1-0) jumped to a 3-0 lead over the first six minutes. VMI's Matt Nichols scored the first goal of the season for the Keydets at the 6:49 mark off an assist by Dayton Bagwell. High Point closed the period with two more goals to go into the second quarter with a 5-1 advantage.
 
VMI sophomore Beau Durkin scored the first goal of the second period to cut the deficit to 5-2, but High Point then went on a 6-0 run over the next eight minutes for a dominant 11-2 lead with 6:19 left before halftime. The Keydets closed the half strong with three unanswered goals during the span to go into the break down six at 11-5 after two scores from Jack Duncan-Bloom and one from Ty Yonas, who made his return to the lineup after missing the latter half of the 2025 season due to injury.
 
Yonas connected with Cole Jones for the first goal of the second half, but the Panthers went on another 3-0 run to up their lead to 14-6 midway through the third period. Bagwell would log two more goals in the stanza, but High Point countered with two more to go into the fourth period with a 16-8 lead.
 
Both teams scored three goals apiece in the fourth period to end the contest with a 19-11 HPU win.
 
Senior Austin English scored his first goal of the year at the 8:23 mark of the fourth quarter to his 70th career goal as he became just the 17th Keydet in program history to join the exclusive 70-Goal Club at VMI.
 
Key Stats
*Junior Dayton Bagwell led the Keydets with four goals while Duncan-Bloom finished with two. Five others scored solo goals throughout the game
*High Point's Carson Robins led the Panthers with four goals of his own followed by last year's leading scorer Justin Wixted who finished with a hat trick. Four others logged two goals in the contest
*HPU goalie Zack Overend achieved eight saves in the game while VMI's Adam Norris registered seven 
*VMI won 18 of 34 faceoffs, including 17 by senior Jack Rogers
*VMI went 17-23 on clearing attempts while the Panthers finished 19-21
 
Up Next
The Keydets head home to face former SoCon foe Mercer next Saturday. The first faceoff is slated for an 11 a.m. start at Drill Field 2




 
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