BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Campbell twice rallied from one-goal deficits
to earn a 2-2 draw with Lipscomb in double overtime Thursday night
in its Atlantic Sun Conference men's soccer opener.
Freshmen Justin Smith from Cary, N.C. (Green Hope High School) and
Ben Iiames of Raleigh, N.C. (Broughton High School) scored their
first career goals as the Camels (1-6-1, 0-0-1) ended a four-match
losing streak.
Lipscomb went in front on a 17th minute goal from A-Sun pre-season
player of the year Miguel DaSilva and an 82nd minute strike by
Alexander Faulk, only to see Campbell come from behind twice.
"I'm proud of the resolve we showed," said Campbell head coach Doug
Hess. "We still need to be better. We can't concede two goals and
still have an expectation of finishing on top in a game."
Campbell threatened early when Pat Danford's fourth-minute shot in
the box was blocked from point-blank range and again about two
minutes later when a Bisons defender cleared Vince Petrasso's toe
poke off the line.
Lipscomb jumped in front just 16:12 into the match when DaSilva
broke in on Camel keeper Ryan Amons and scored his second goal of
the season.
Smith equalized on a header off Jason Keever's corner kick at 37:21
to bring the Camels level at the half.
The Bisons (3-5-2, 0-0-1) appeared to clinch three points when
Alexander Faulk scored off Deve Bahadoorsingh's corner with 8:59
remaining to play.
However, following one of Lipscomb's 26 fouls on the night (the
Camels were whistled for 28), Mitchell Cardenas served the ball
into the left side of the box to Iiames, who struck a low shot that
found the far right corner of the net at the 86:32 mark.
Campbell nearly took the lead shortly thereafter when Cardenas
whipped an in-swinging corner kick that rattled the near post.
In extra time, Danford hit a shot that Lipscomb keeper Brent McGee
had to parry by the post.
The two-game trip to Nashville, Tenn., concludes Saturday in a 4:00
p.m. (CDT) kick-off at Belmont. The Bruins dropped a 5-1 decision
to Mercer Thursday night in their league opener.
Since the start of the 2005 season, Campbell owns a 25-4-5 record
in A-Sun regular season matches, best among current league
members. The Camels won the 2005 and 2008 A-Sun regular season
titles and claimed the league's tournament title in 2007.
Campbell leads the all-time series with the Bisons by a 6-1-0
margin. Last year, the Camels rallied from a two-goal deficit with
less than 30 minutes to play.
