Head Coach Marty Beal’s gives mid-season soccer report

By Ryan, October 7, 2015

By Sean Hamilton, Staff Writer//

Expectations have never been higher for Women’s Soccer at High Point University. After winning the 2014 Big South Championship qualifying for the NCAA tournament last season, the High Point Panthers have become a favorite to win the conference again in 2015.
As conference play begins, the Panthers currently hold an impressive 7-2-3 overall record. High Point went 5-1-3 in non-conference play, which included two ties against SEC teams and stands as one of the best non-conference seasons in school history.
“We want to wear our opponents out,” said head coach Marty Beal. Beal is currently in his seventh season as head coach for High Point. In 2012, he won Big South Coach of the Year. He also owns the program record for overall wins and conference wins.
“We have a lot of great quality depth within this program and when you have that kind of talent on the bench, you want to utilize them,” Beal said. “In turn that helps us defensively because we have more energy at the end of games and it also helps us minimize injuries.”
Beal is known for using more of his bench players than almost all of his opponents. He will often sub in an entire new squad of players from his bench toward the end of a half and the second squad will frequently outplay the tired opposition.
To this point High Point has been a defensive machine. They have seven shutouts and have not allowed more than two goals to any of their opponents.
“Kelsey Perrell is a huge leader for us on both ends of the field. Amy Burch is having a phenomenal season at center back, a senior captain and true leader of our defense,” Beal said. “Rebecca Lisson is the senior leader of our midfield. Those three have excelled in their roles as captains.”
“As far as quality of play, I think our biggest key has been Meg Kowalksi. She has consistently been our best player on the field,” Beal said.
Beal believes that his team is more mature and has become an even better team than last season. Last season the Panthers took on an enormous freshman class, and featured 17 freshman players. “This year the theme is consistency. The sophomores now have a year under their belt and they have all grown and learned a great deal from last season. I think that is a big reason why we are on pace for our best season in school history,” Beal said.
This year’s freshman class is also talented.
“Our freshman are good and they all shine at different moments,” Beal said. “I think with all the freshman there is a level of consistency that they are learning to acquire. Callyn Loughrey has been great for us so far and Tyler Gordon certainly showed us what she can do against USC Upstate.”
On an additional high note, the Panthers have been awarded their sixth consecutive NSCAA team academic award and currently hold the highest team GPA in the school. Beal and his staff have done an excellent job in creating a culture of high level academics. “We want our players to be the best at everything that they do. Our motto is ‘be the best you that you can be,’” Beal said.
“We have the goofiest bunch kids you could ever imagine,” Beal said. “When you put them on the field, they compete their tails off. But that’s something a lot of people don’t really get to see. They are a great group, and they really care about this University.”
The Panthers are off to 2-1-0 start in conference play, and they will next play Coastal Carolina at home on Oct. 7 in a rematch of last years Big South Championship game.