2014 Record: 9-7 overall, 4-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference, 5-3 at Home, 3-3 Away
2014 in Review:
The regular season was nothing short of a success for the High Point University Panthers. They finished 4-1 in conference play and 9-7 overall, which marked a major turnaround for the program in 2014 compared to the team’s 2013 results when they finished 3-12 overall.
High Point comes into 2015 with one of the more seasoned rosters in the Atlantic Sun. Fifty-two percent of the roster is comprised of upperclassmen (26 out of the 50 member team). The experience is what drives the Panthers to success because they know which players to turn to right when they need a scoring opportunity, or a strong defensive play.
High Point in 2014 took 553 shots on goal during the year, scoring 154 times, or roughly 9.63 goals a game. The league average in goals scored was 9.43 with the number of goals per team totaling 151 for the entire season.
The team won 58 percent of faceoffs against other teams showing that they win control of the game at the outset, leading to more opportunities for the team overall. However, the team also committed 263 turnovers during the season, which is well about the league average of 231, meaning that they are liable to be mistake-prone and sloppy unless they can get their heads in the game.
2015 Prediction:
The Panthers face (at the time of publication) two top 10 teams in the nation when they play No. 3 Duke in High Point, NC to kick off the month of February and No. 6 North Carolina, a week later on the 10th of February in Chapel Hill, NC. Otherwise, the schedule is comprised of a relatively standard schedule of teams that High Point has beaten in previous years. It would be surprising to see the Panthers not win the conference this year.
