By JT Farabow

For 22 year-old Tony Pineda, the phrase “home is where your heart is” couldn’t be more true.

As a freshman in 2018, Pineda was a standout performer on the High Point University Men’s Soccer team that made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. He scored seven goals and registered five assists in 18 games played, made the all Big South first team and was named the Big South Freshman of the Year. Pineda’s talent was even recognized nationally, as he was honored on the Freshman All-American Second Team.

Following his extremely successful first season with the Panthers, Pineda transferred to West Virginia University to continue his dreams of playing soccer at the Division I level.

After three seasons for the Mountaineers, Pineda has now followed his heart back to HPU, where he will be playing for his additional redshirt COVID season.

“As soon as I came back, JG, who is an assistant coach, threw up a video for me on the billboard,” said Pineda. “That moment really opened it up for me. It made me think, ‘Why did I leave? This is home.’”

A successful program isn’t just measured by the amount of championships won. It’s measured by the friendships and community that’s built around the team and the positive characteristics of the people that are a part of the club.

If you ask anyone that’s a part of HPU Men’s Soccer team, they’ll tell you how the team is family and how they feel right at home in High Point. According to Assistant Coach Sean Brennan, a big part of building a successful culture around a program is about more than just recruiting talented soccer players.

“It starts with identifying good people,” said Coach Brennan. “What we do here is fun. You want to make sure you’re enjoying it and that requires being around good people and good staff… We pride ourselves on taking care of our guys and treating them like people. When you bring mature guys into that environment, they’ll give you the same in return and that allows for the culture we have.”

The notion of family goes deeper than just friends and teammates, as there are now two sets of brothers in the squad.

Holland Rula, a graduate transfer from Wake Forest, is set to use his additional COVID redshirt season to play in purple alongside his younger brother Larson, who will be a sophomore next fall.

“I’m really excited,” Larson said, when talking about playing alongside his older brother. “We’ve never played on the same team before, but it’s kinda like a built-in friend. It’s just really cool to have him here.”

Whether blood-related or not, the camaraderie of the HPU Men’s Soccer team holds them together on and off the field.

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JT Farabow is a senior at High Point University majoring in Sports Media with a minor in Journalism. For contact inquiries, please email jfarabow@highpoint.edu.