BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Freshman Bradley Farias pulled Campbell level at 1-1 in the 19th minute, but No. 20 Charlotte scored five unanswered goals in a 6-1 victory on Saturday evening at the Eakes Athletics Complex.
Senior Ricki Gaez found Farias open with a feed into the middle of the 18-yard box and left the freshman with a one-on-one situation against 49ers goalkeeper Austin Pack. Farias beat him to the bottom left corner for the early equalizer and his fourth goal of the season; Gaez tallied his first assist of the year on the setup pass.
The Camels recorded four shots on goal, including three from Farias, while Charlotte placed nine of their 22 shots on target. Pack made two saves for the 49ers while replacement Nick Hensley made another, and redshirt freshman Matthew Mozynski stopped a trio of shots for Campbell.
Senior Jhuvon Francis made his season debut for Campbell after missing the first four matches. He replaced junior Isaiah Page in the 35th minute and finished with 32 minutes of playing time.
Charlotte applied pressure early, with Kyle Parker and Monbo Bokar launching shots for the 49ers that went wide right and high, respectively. Campbell was whistled for an offside call at the 10:53 mark and a quick Charlotte counterattack gave the 49ers an early lead. Nick Barnhorst had his shot from the right side stopped by Mozynski, but Dominic Bonilla collected the rebound and put it into the lower right corner of the net in the 12th minute for the 1-0 lead.
Farias' aforementioned goal knotted the match at 1-1, but a second goal from Charlotte's Bonilla just 55 seconds later gave the 49ers a 2-1 lead. Parker and Brandt Bronico connected on a pair of passes to set up Bonilla just inside the right side of the box, who beat Mozynski to the bottom left corner to retake the lead.
The 49ers' Bokar added to the tally at 22:56. A Campbell defender momentarily handled Matej Dekovic's pass, but Bokar won possession and continued on a solo run through the left side of the box, scoring in the bottom right corner to make it 3-1 in favor of Charlotte.
Campbell had a chance to pull one back with five seconds remaining in the first half. Farias was on the receiving end of a free kick inside the box and made a play with a header, but Pack made the save going into the halftime break.
Zhuvonte Wilson (73:20), Hans Honer (76:18) and Harrison Steadman (85:27) added goals for Charlotte in the second half to reach the 6-1 scoreline. Luke Waechter assisted on Wilson's score, and Bonilla added one on Steadman's goal as well.
Cameron Mulvey nearly gave the Camels a second goal in the 75th minute with a rocket from well outside the box. The junior defender fired a blast from 35 yards out and Pack narrowly stopped the shot from sinking just under the crossbar.
Campbell's final chance of the night came in the closing seconds of the match. Redshirt junior Cesar Gonzalez played in a corner with 15 seconds remaining, but Matt Martinez had his attempt blocked by a Charlotte defender.
Campbell (3-2-0) will return to action on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. as the team returns to the state of Florida for the second time this season to take on Jacksonville. The Camels lead the all-time series 9-5-4 over the Dolphins and hold a 4-3-2 mark in Jacksonville.
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