HIGH POINT, N.C. – Freshman Alexander Levengood drew William & Mary men's soccer within one with less than 20 minutes remaining, but the Tribe dropped its season opener at Big South favorite High Point, 2-1, on Friday night at Vert Stadium.
 
After the Tribe's best chance of the opening half from senior Reeves Trott was stopped by the HPU goalkeeper, the hosts struck first in the 36th minute on its lone attempt of the first frame. Ryan Inman served the ball from the right wing to the near side of the six and Siggi Benonysson got a boot to it to redirect it into the left side of the frame to give High Point (1-0) a 1-0 lead.
 
W&M (0-1) had a few dangerous minutes out of the locker room, but the Panthers, who earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament last season after winning its second-straight regular-season Big South Championship, doubled the lead in the 54th minute. Ilias Kosmidis created the chance with a through ball to Jordan Lonchar, whose initial shot was stopped by freshman goalkeeper Kieran Baskett. Lonchar followed up his own rebound, volleying a shot into the net for a 2-0 HPU lead.
 
In the 72nd minute, the Tribe pulled one back thanks to Levengood. The freshman striker intercepted a High Point pass and set senior Julian Ngoh free down the right side. He cut a pass back to Levengood who slotted home his first collegiate goal from 10 yards out to cut the Panther lead in half.
 
The Green and Gold had a pair of chances in the final two minutes. Junior Sam Golan sent a header just wide of the post off a free kick and his bending ball from distance in the closing seconds was stopped by Keegan Meyer.

Quotables
"We are happy with the performance, but disappointed with the result. We competed well on the road against a good High Point team. I am very encouraged and confident that we will grow from this. We look forward to Tuesday at home." - W&M head coach Chris Norris

Starters
W&M - #22 Baskett (GK), #3 Bozalongo, #4 Bradley, #5 Golan, #7 Smith, #8 Hosseinian, #13 Shane, #15 Levengood, #16 Bustamante, #21 Trott, #24 Nogh
 
High Point – #1 Meyer (GK), #2 Phipps, #3 Sobacchi, #4 Inman, #5 Kendall, #7 Kosmidis, #10 Bolanos, #11 Lonchar, #12 Dubost, #17 Abril, #23 Shahim
 
Scoring Summary
36' | HPU – Siggi Benonysson (Ryan Inman)
54' | HPU - Jordan Lonchar (Ilias Kosmidis)
72' | W&M – Alexander Levengood (Julian Ngoh)
 
By the Numbers
- The Tribe outshot High Point, 9-5, on the night. W&M had three shots compared to just one for HPU in the first half and a 6-4 advantage in the second half.
- W&M put four shots on goal compared to three for High Point. Panthers' goalkeeper Keegan Meyers tallied three saves compared to one for freshman Kieran Baskett.
- The Panthers held a 6-4 advantage in corner kicks.
- Freshman Alexander Levengood attempted a game-high four shots.
 
Notes
Freshmen Kieran Baskett, Alfredo Bozalongo and Alexander Levengood earned the first starts of their collegiate careers … Junior Sam Golan made his 39th consecutive start along the backline … Levengood, who is the set the Virginia state record for goals in high school, tallied his first marker in his first game with the Tribe … Senior Julian Ngoh notched his seventh career assist, finding Levengood on the W&M marker … High Point evened the all-time series at 2-2 and won its second-straight at home against the Tribe … Freshmen Diba Nwegbo, Marcos Villeda, Nathan Messer and Campbell Brickhouse made the first appearances of their Tribe careers off the bench.

Up Next
- The Tribe opens a four-match homestand when it welcomes Villanova to Williamsburg on Tuesday, Sept. 2. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.
- Fans can watch the action on Tribe Athletics TV for FREE in HD and live stats will be available at TribeAthletics.com.