BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- Campbell opens the 2011 regular season at home on Friday with a 4:00 p.m. kick-off against 30th-ranked Furman in a re-match of 2007 NCAA College Cup first-round opponents. The Paladins scored a 2-0 victory in '07 at Greenville, S.C. Last year, the teams played to a scoreless draw at Greenville. Furman is also the first of four Southern Conference schools to appear on the 2011 Camel schedule, including Wofford (at the UNCW adidas Classic), plus Elon (Sept. 14) and Davidson (Sept. 21) at Buies Creek.
CU VS. RANKED OPPONENTS: Since the start of the 2005 season, Campbell stands 4-10-0 against nationally-ranked teams with three of those victories coming at the Eakes Athletic Complex. However, since a 2-0 victory over North Carolina on Oct. 28, 2008, the Camels have dropped their last five games vs. nationally-ranked foes, including three last year. Furman is ranked No.-30 in the College Soccer News pre-season poll.
LAST YEAR: Campbell (6-9-4, 4-5-0 A-Sun) set a school record for draws in a season and dropped three decisions to nationally-ranked opponents. CU finished 5th in the Atlantic Sun standings. Furman (10-7-4, 4-1-2 SoCon) earned a share of the Southern Conference regular season title in 2010.
BACK HOME IN THE BIG SOUTH: After a 17-year tenure in the Atlantic Sun Conference (and claiming four league trophies since 2005), the Camels return to the Big South, of which CU was a charter member from 1984-93. Campbell owned the best record of all A-Sun members in regular season play from 2005-2010 (36-10-5). In 10 seasons, Campbell won the Big South regular season title five times (1984, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1993), the tournament championship on four occasions (1984, 1985, 1991, 1992) and finished as league tournament runner-up three years (1986, 1989, 1993).
2010 HONOREES RETURNING: Twelve letter winners, including nine starters, return from the 2010 Campbell club. Among those back are first-team all-conference midfielder Mitchell Cardenas (3 goals, 8 assists, 14 points in 2010), second-team all-league defender Ben Iiames (who played all but 13 minutes during the 2010 campaign) and A-Sun all-freshman team midfielder Justin Franz (3 goals, 2 assists).
HOME, SWEET HOME: Since the start of the 2005 campaign, Campbell owns a 35-16-1 (.683) record at the Eakes Athletic Complex -- including 3 wins over nationally-ranked teams at the site. Among those were victories over #3 North Carolina (1-0) in 2006 and a 7th-ranked Tar Heels side (2-0) in 2008.
CAMEL NOTES: Sophomore defender J.J. Elder was listed as one of the top 36 transfers nationally in Division I by Soccer America... Campbell defeated former A-Sun rival Mercer 2-1 in its exhibition opener behind goals from Justin Franz and Eduardo Rodriguez... Franz, Mitchell Cardenas and Jhuvon Francis scored, while Rodriguez provided two assists Saturday in a 3-1 victory over the CU Alumni team, which included 10 members of the 2007 squad that advanced to the NCAA College Cup.
FURMAN NOTES: Freshman defender Walker Zimmerman, a member of the U-18 National Team, has been named to Soccer America's "Eight Freshmen of Influence"... Senior defender Walker Jernigan was named to the SoCon pre-season all-conference team... No.-25 Wake Forest rallied for a 2-1 win in Furman's only pre-season game... Martin Ontiveros, a transfer from 2010 national champ Akron, gave Furman the leasd less than 10 minutes into the match.
NEXT: Campbell travels to its most frequent rival in the 49-year history of the program next Thursday (Sept. 1) when the Camels head to UNC Wilmington for a 7:00 p.m. kick-off. CU holds a 24-20-1 edge in the all-time series, but last year, the 23rd-ranked Seahawks dealt CU a 3-1 loss in Buies Creek.
