BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Lipscomb defeated Campbell 2-1 Saturday night
to earn home field advantage in the first round of the A-Sun men's
soccer tournament.
The Bisons (9-8, 5-4 A-Sun) claimed the fourth seed and will host
the fifth-seeded school next Saturday. Campbell (6-7-4, 4-5-0)
will be either the fifth or sixth seed in the event, pending the
outcome of Saturday's match between Jacksonville and Stetson.
Two nights after its highest-scoring game in nearly two years,
Campbell mustered just three shots on target and fell behind by two
goals after 46 minutes. Keegan Terry's fifth strike of the year
off Eduardo Rodriguez' serve in the 80th minute cut the margin in
half.
Campbell had one last chance to equalize, but Lipscomb keeper Brent
McGee drove to his left and pushed a low, hard shot from Khalil
Johnson by the left post for a corner kick.
Lipscomb went in front in the 28th minute when Josh Kolbo volleyed
Matt Shanklin's service across the face of the goal and Nick Bibb
scored his second goal of the season.
Just 1:01 into the second half, Garret Pettis turned at the edge of
the Campbell box and hit a right-footed shot that dipped under the
bar at the far post for his seventh strike of the year.
In the 74th minute, Johnson controlled a Lipscomb turnover just
outside the area and broke in free on McGee, but his blast sailed
well high of the cross bar.
Both teams finished with 11 shots and three on target. McGee had
two saves in the Bisons net, while Ryan Amons made one for the
Camels.
Campbell lost for only the eighth time on Homecoming Day (23-8-3)
since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1977. Saturday's result
also left CU with a sub-.500 A-Sun regular season record for the
first time since 2004. The evening also marked the final home
appearance for five Camel seniors -- J.P. Blosser, Eric Debrah,
Ronnie Hinton, Khalil Johnson and Ben York.
The Camels return to action Tuesday at fifth-ranked Virginia (7
pm), then will play at either Mercer or Lipscomb next Saturday in
the A-Sun first round.