The decisive strike came when Brian Urioste whipped a cross to the top of the Mercer box that was defected by Mercer defender Josh Shutter over keeper Brett Petricek and into the net.

Campbell (4-3-4, 2-1-0 A-Sun) never trailed in the contest, but Mercer (6-3-1, 1-2-0) equalized twice before the final minutes.

The Camels went front on Keegan Terry's ninth minute goal, and again in the 55th minute through Justin Franz. However, Mercer's Richie Edmondson (17th minute) and Taylor Krek (66th) drew the Bears level on two occasions.

Camel freshman keeper Ethan Hall came off the bench in the 34th minute and made three saves in the second half - including a sprawling stop off Joshua Ball's header in the 62nd minute - to earn his first career victory in the nets.

Mercer finished with a slim 13-12 lead in shots, but the Camels had eight on target, compared to seven for the visitors. Campbell stretched its unbeaten streak to three games (2-0-1).

"To win a tight game like this, I'm proud that our guys pushed through it and had the ball roll their way. It's a reward for the effort they've put in," said Campbell head coach Steve Armas. "We've talked all year about the fact that different guys will come in and affect the game, and tonight Franz scored a goal and Hall made a save to keep us in the game. That has to build this team's confidence."

With the score tied at 1 through halftime, Mercer saw a chance to grab the lead slip by in the 50th minute when Ian Cameron slid a pass across the top of the box to Ryan King, but his shot went wide of the right post.

Franz' left-footed shot from just outside the area dipped just under Petricek's bar for the first career goal for the Cedar Park, Texas freshman.

In the 62nd minute, Shutter's long throw was flicked on toward the far post, but Hall dove to his left to tap it away from danger.

Campbell nearly doubled the lead in the 64th minute when Terry slipped a pass to Khalil Johnson inside the area, but his right-footed effort caromed off the cross bar.

Mercer drew level just two minutes later after a Camel turnover near midfield. Krek dribbled diagonally toward the goal; then ripped a right-footed shot from 22 yards that sailed into the lower left corner of Hall's net for his first career strike.

Each team found the net once during the first 45 minutes.

In the fifth minute, Richie Edmondson broke free down the right flank, but Camel keeper Ryan Amons charged off his line and made a diving save at the top of the area.

Campbell went in front in the ninth minute when Justin Smith sent a cross to Franz, who headed the ball down in the box. Terry's first touch rolled inside the right post for his first goal of the season.

The Bears equalized in the 17th minute after a long throw in from Josh Shutter into the box. The ball was cleared high in the area and Amons charged off his line, but dropped the ball. Edmondson then scored this third goal of the year into the empty net.

After 25 minutes Mercer nearly went in front when Ryan Young's flick found Joshua Ball free behind the back four, but his shot over a sliding Amons sailed over the cross bar.

In the 40th minute, Camel backup keeper Ethan Hall (who replaced an injured Amons seven minutes earlier), missed a clearance at the top of the area, but Young's driven cross to Ryan King was too high at the back post.

Campbell ran its record in A-Sun regular season play to 34-6-5 since 2005, the best among all league schools. Since the start of the 2008 campaign, Campbell stands 18-2-2 against the A-Sun.

The Camels also improved to 22-2-3 in their last 27 games during the month of October and also extended their lead in the all-time series with the Bears to a 19-7-2 margin.

Campbell also moved to 34-14-1 at the Eakes Athletic Complex since the start of the 2005 season.

The Camels continue their three-game home stand on Thursday with a 7:00 p.m. kick-off against Florida Gulf Coast.