CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland State (1-3) was downed in their season opener to High Point (4-1) on Saturday afternoon, 18-11.
The Panthers scored the first two goals of the game to take a 2-0 advantage with 12:49 remaining in the first quarter. Alex Van Voorhis got the Green and White on the board with an unassisted goal at 10:57, and Charlie Williams tied it just 15 seconds later.
High Point retook the lead with a tally at the 6:37 mark before Van Voorhis netted his second goal of the game off a feed from Wyatt Robinson, retying the game with 5:10 left in the opening quarter.
An unassisted HPU goal put the visitors back on top with 4:19 to go before the Vikings tallied three unassisted goals. Amiri Austin knotted the game with 2:50 left, and eight seconds later, Wyatt Robertson put Cleveland State on top for the first time, 5-4. Parker Yearego capped off the run with 1:14 showing on the clock. The visitors struck one last time as the Green and White led 6-5 heading into the second quarter.
High Point accounted for the first six goals of the new quarter to lead 11-6 with 4:22 remaining in the first half. Van Voorhis completed his hat-trick on the man-up with 3:19 left to pull within 11-7. However, the Panthers scored one last time before the half to lead 12-7 at the break.
Cleveland State started the third quarter strong, scoring three unanswered goals. Austin started the run with his second of the game and assisted on Robertson's second as the Vikings trailed 12-9 with 11:54 to go in the quarter. Van Voorhis found the back of the net off a feed from Robertson to pull within two with 9:26 remaining in the frame.
However, the Panthers ran off the final two goals of the quarter to lead 14-10. Then, to start the fourth, HPU rattled off four straight goals, extending their advantage to 18-10 with 6:15 left in the contest.
Van Voorhis scored his game-best fifth goal on the man-down with four seconds left as the Vikings fell in the home opener, 18-11.
Robbie Stewart and Griffin Valli each scooped up four ground balls. Valli and Zack Tower each forced a pair of turnovers.
Justin Dalum got the start in goal, making four saves before Austin England took over for the final 38 minutes. England finished with seven saves.
Cleveland State heads back out on the road to face Canisius on Friday, March 1 at 3 p.m.
