BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Stetson scored three times in the opening half
and went on to a 3-1 win over Campbell Saturday night in Atlantic
Sun Conference men's soccer action at the Eakes Athletic
Complex.
The defending A-Sun tournament champions scored twice in the first
20 minutes and won for the sixth time in their last seven
matches.
Coupled with Thursday's 1-0 setback to Florida Gulf Coast, Campbell
(4-5-4, 2-3-0) dropped consecutive home games to Atlantic Sun foes
for the first time since October 18, 2003. The defeat was just
Campbell's fourth in A-Sun regular season play since the start of
the 2008 campaign (18-4-2).
Kai Eckenrode put the Hatters (8-3-1, 5-1-0 A-Sun) in the 17th
minute when Giulio D'Amore played the ball over the Camel back four
and the Hatter striker slotted the ball inside keeper Ryan Amons'
left post.
Campbell appeared to equalize in the 18th when Stetson keeper
Andreas Schnabl dove to stop Justin Franz' shot and Keegan Terry
knocked in the rebound, but the Camel sophomore was ruled offside
and the goal disallowed.
Just 1:59 later after its first goal, Stetson doubled the margin
when Gonzalo de Mujica split the Camel back four and Fredrik
Brustad's low shot hit the goal just inside the left post.
In the 30th minute, Campbell's Mitchell Cardenas hit the top of the
crossbar with a left-footed shot from outside the box.
Brustad set up Stetson's third goal with a low pass across the area
in the 35th minute and Ryan Asare-Bediako struck a first-time
left-footed shot from just inside the box into the upper left
corner of the net.
Campbell drew one back in the 41st minute when Justin Franz' flick
fell to Ben Iiames' feet at the back post, but his left footed shot
missed just wide right.
Just 3:19 into the second period the Camels struck when Schnabl
saved J.P. Blosser's low shot from the right side, but Terry
knocked in the rebound to cut the edge to 3-1.
Campbell's best chance to further pare the margin came in the 85th
minute when Schnabl had to tip Eduardo Rodriguez' effort from
outside the box over his bar for a corner kick.
The Camels finished with a slim 18-17 edge in shots, while both
teams had eight on target. Amons made five saves in the Campbell
nets, while Schnabl finished with 7.
Stetson was the ninth regionally-ranked opponent the Camels have
faced through 10 matches. The Hatters were rated 10th in this
week's South Region poll.
Campbell returns to action Thursday in a 7:00 p.m. kickoff at
Jacksonville.
