BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Following a two-week break from competition, Campbell returns to action Saturday when it hosts Loyola at 7 p.m. in a battle to two regionally-ranked teams. The Camels stand 10th in this week's NSCAA South Atlantic region poll, while Loyola has climbed to 6th place in the North Atlantic region.
RECORDS: CAMPBELL (2-1-1) dropped its first decision of the year Sept. 1 at Elon. Ricki Gaez scored his team-leading third goal of the year for the Camels... LOYOLA (3-1-1) defeated crosstown rival Towson 2-0 Tuesday on second-half goals from Larry Ndjock and Connor Thompson.
THE LOYOLA SERIES: Loyola owns a 3-0-1 advantage in the all-time series following last year's 1-0 victory at Baltimore. Connor Thompson scored the game's only goal in the 74th minute and the Camels were shut out despite a 30-5 edge in shots... In 2010, CU and Loyola battled to a scoreless draw at Buies Creek, where the Camels out-shot the Retrievers 22-8... LU also earned a 1-0 triumph in 2008 at Baltimore... Loyola was Campbell's opponent for the first match ever played at the Eakes Complex, a 2-0 Greyhounds victory on Sept. 1, 1986.
SOUTH ATLANTIC REGION RANKINGS (Sept. 11, 2012): 1. Maryland (4-0), 2. Old Dominion (4-0), 3. George Mason (5-0), 4. Coastal Carolina (3-1-2), 5. High Point (4-0), 6. Hofstra (4-0-1), 7. Virginia (2-2), 8. Boston College (2-2), 9. Northeastern (3-1), 10. Campbell (2-1-1).
CARDENAS CLIMBS SCHOOL CHARTS: Senior MF Mitchell Cardenas has moved into a tie with Peter McCormick (1982-86) and John Izzo (2000-03) for 27th place on the school's all-time scoring list with 51 points on 14 goals and 23 assists... Next on the list with 52 points are Don Holdren (1964-66) and Greg Gonzales (1976-79), then with 54 points Rico Berrios (1986-87) and Vince Petrasso (2006-09)... Cardenas is only 4 assists shy of jumping into the program's all-time top-10 in assists... He ranks 2nd among Big South assists leaders (3) this season.
CAMEL NOTES: Senior D Ben Iiames (55 matches) and junior D Aleksi Tossavainen (43) have extended their consecutive starts strings through the first 4 matches... Junior GK Ethan Hall was named Big South Conference defensive player of the week Aug. 28. He carries a 1.18 goal-against average and .792 save percentage into Saturday's game... Sophomore F Ricki Gaez leads the team with 3 goals scored on 11 shots this season. A year ago, Gaez scored once on 45 shots in 18 matches... Tossavainen and junior MF Justin Franz provided goals in CU's 2-1 win over UNC Wilmington (Aug. 29)... With 94 points, CU was picked 3rd in the Big South pre-season poll behind defending regular season champ Coastal Carolina (121 points) and High Point (99).
LOYOLA NOTES: The Greyhounds are off to a 3-1-1 start and have not allowed more than one goal in any of their 5 matches. Loyola has won 3-straight contests. Larry Ndjock leads the team with 4 goals, whie Connor Thompson (3 assists) and Jamie Libby have provided the other two Greyhound strikes. Keeper Thurman Van Riper owns a 0.56 goals-against average and 2 shutouts.
HOME, SWEET HOME: Since the start of the 2005 campaign, Campbell owns a 39-19-2 (.667) record at the Eakes Athletic Complex -- including 3 wins over nationally-ranked teams at the site. CU finished 4-3-1 at home in 2011, winning its final four matches at Eakes.
NEXT: Following Saturday's match, the Camels begin a 4-game road stretch next Tuesday at 14th-ranked NC State (7 pm).
CAMPBELL MEN'S SOCCER CELEBRATES GOLDEN SEASON: Campbell University celebrates its 50th season of men's soccer varsity competition this fall. Festivities feature a gathering of men's soccer alumni during Homecoming weekend (Oct. 19-20) on campus. All-Decade Teams will be named for the 1960s, '70s, '80s, '90s and 2000s and released periodically throughout the campaign. On Fri., Oct. 19, a men's soccer golf outing will be held at Keith Hills Country Club to kick off the Homecoming weekend. An Alumni-v-Alumni game is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Sat., Oct. 20, followed by a luncheon before the 3:30 p.m. varsity game vs. Presbyterian.
