BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Campbell fell 1-0 against UNC Wilmington in the 49th edition of the rivalry at the Eakes Athletics Complex on Tuesday evening after Collin Bonner's header goal in the 69th minute.
Jake VanCompernolle launched a long throw-in to the center of the 18-yard box and Bonner headed it home to the bottom left corner for the game-winner at 68:48. Campbell dropped its first match of the season to move to 3-1-0, while the Seahawks improved to 4-1-1.
"We've talked about playing under pressure and having that mentality to perform well under stress, but we lacked in some of that tonight," Head Coach Steve Armas said. "We knew it was going to be a physical game, and I want to credit UNC Wilmington. They are a very good team and put away the chance that they had."
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Matthew Mozynski made four saves on the night, all in the first half, to prevent the Seahawks from adding to their lead. UNC Wilmington held an edge in corners, outpacing the Camels 6-1 in that category.
Neither side could place a shot on goal through the first 10 minutes of the match, but the Seahawks found a burst of offense beginning in the 12th minute. Freddy Nzekele forced Mozynski into his first save of the night at 12:37 and three other shots sailed wide of the posts.
Freshman Bradley Farias responded on a counter for the Camels in the 18th minute as he sought to break the deadlock, but UNC Wilmington goalkeeper Sean Melvin made the save to maintain the scoreless match.
UNC Wilmington saw more chances before the end of the first half, but Mozynski was able to carry the 0-0 score into the halftime break with saves against Nzekele, Jamie Dell and Jack Ward.
The best chance of the match to that point fell to the foot of UNC Wilmington's Nzekele in the 50th minute. With space at the right post, he attempted to beat Mozynski low but the shot struck the post as the score remained level.
A Campbell counterattack in the 67th minute gave the Camels their strongest chance of the night to pull ahead. Sophomore Tunji Osifeso took a solo run into the middle of the field that drew out the goalkeeper before playing the ball to Farias, who found himself alone on the right side just outside the penalty box. Campbell's leading scorer fired a blast on the open net but hit the crossbar for a goal kick to the Seahawks.
Bonner's goal just two minutes later proved to be the match-winner for UNC Wilmington. Osifeso had Campbell's last chance to equalize in the 84th minute but his attempt went wide left.
"This stretch of games is important for us to iron out some weaknesses and strengthen the things that we're good at," Armas said. "Overall, I think we'll continue to create chances like we did tonight. It's just a matter of putting together a consistent performance over the full 90 minutes."
The Camels will remain at home for their next match as they host Charlotte at the Eakes Athletics Complex on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. The 49ers lead the all-time series 15-3-2, but Campbell won the last meeting in Buies Creek, a 2-1 victory on Sept. 18, 2010.
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