MEN'S SOCCER TRAVELS TO NO. 25 HIGH POINT ON SATURDAY

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Radford faces its first ranked opponent of the 2012 season on Saturday night and looks to build on a perfect Big South start when the Highlanders visit No. 25 High Point.

Unbeaten over their last seven matches overall, the Highlanders (8-2-3, 6-0-0 Big South) could post the best conference start in school history with a positive result. Radford won all six of its league matches to start the 1991 season, on the way to a Big South regular season title that year.

Radford is one of two unblemished Big South sides, joining No. 10 Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers (7-0, 21 points) are three points ahead of the Highlanders (18) for the top spot.

REEVO'S REVIEW

Saturday's match at High Point (11-2-1, 4-1-1 Big South) is the beginning of what is arguably the toughest stretch of this season – Radford also has Coastal Carolina, Winthrop and Liberty remaining on the league schedule.

“Our group has done a great job of preparing and being ready to play, no matter who the opponent or what the environment may be,” head coach Marc Reeves said. “This will be our toughest challenge yet.”

“High Point is a well-balanced and fast-paced team that has some exceptionally talented players. We will need to be at our very best with one-on-one situations and group defending. We'll need to ensure we take of the ball with quality possession, team decisions and attacking movement. It is a massive conference game and a very hard place to play.”

HIGHLANDER NOTES

Saturday's match at High Point begins the final leg of a four-game road stretch for Radford – the longest since playing four in a row on the road to open up the campaign.
It's also a matchup of two of the nation's top scoring teams – High Point ranks fourth among Division I teams with 34 goals, while the Highlanders are 16th with 27 tallies.
Radford's .731 winning percentage is 24th in the NCAA rankings – the Highlanders once again received votes in the NSCAA/Continental Tire South Atlantic Region Poll.
James Jordan is the second Highlander to earn Big South Defensive Player of the Week honors this season – he joins midfielder Dario Redondo, who had the honor for the week of Sept. 24.
Along with plenty of scoring this season, Radford's team goals-against average (0.86) is 39th in the nation.
Bernardo Ulmo returned to his scoring ways on Saturday at UNC Asheville, chipping in the first goal of the contest and an assist on Ramzi Dridi's game-winner just before halftime.
Ulmo entered the week ranked ninth in NCAA Division I in goals with 10.

THE MATCHUP

A season ago, the Highlanders claimed a 1-0 win over High Point at Cupp Stadium – a late strike from 2011 senior Anthony Payne on a shot from midfield was the difference.
Radford leads the all-time series, 10-6-2.
High Point was unbeaten in its first 10 games – the Panthers have lost two of three, albeit in a pair of games with tough competition at Virginia (L 1-2, 10/9) and at Campbell (L 1-2, 10/17).

UP NEXT

Radford plays its last non-conference match of the season on Tuesday, heading to Blacksburg for a 7 p.m. contest at Virginia Tech.

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