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BUIES CREEK, N.C. --- The Campbell University men's soccer team rallied from a 2-1 halftime deficit to claim a 3-2 victory over Longwood in the quarterfinals of the Big South Conference Championship. Bradley Farias and Isaiah Page each registered three points for the Camels (10-8-0).

With the win, Campbell advances to the semifinals to take on top-seeded Winthrop, who knocked off eighth-seeded UNC Asheville in its quarterfinal matchup. The match is set for 4 p.m. on Friday at Bryan Park in Greensboro, North Carolina.

"I think advancing to the semifinals is a real step in the maturation of the program," said head coach Dustin Fonder. "We want to turn this into a program that competes for titles. Our first goal was to make the tournament, then to host a game and then to advance. We are stepping up as a program so that in future years playing the semifinals and finals becomes the norm."

Facing a 2-1 deficit, Campbell controlled the ball for most of the opening part of the second half and had numerous chances at the equalizer. In the 72nd minute, Reafe Anderson controlled a long pass from Daniel Mukuna on the run and created a counter opportunity. Anderson hit Page with a pass in stride who then buried the ball in the back of the net past Longwood (8-9-1) goalkeeper Carlos Canas.

"Isaiah's goal was crucial because I really thought we were on top of the game there for a while, but didn't get a goal out of it," Fonder stated. "After that it swung to their favor but we then broke out on the counter opportunity and some unselfish play led to Isaiah finishing off a really nice goal."

The Lancers had a chance to re-take the lead seconds after the Campbell goal but Dan Campos' attempt was secured by CU keeper Jeff Kennedy. In the 83rd minute, Farias created space for himself inside the 18-yard box and found Seth Jones who was sprinting towards the net. Canas left his line to try and make the save, but Jones got off a quick shot over the diving keeper to score the go-ahead goal.

Longwood responded by picking up the offensive intensity after trailing for the first time in the match. Finnlay Wyatt fired a shot high in the 84th minute while Sam Yardley pushed a shot wide just seconds later. Campos took back-to-back corner kicks in the 87th minute, but the Camel defense didn't allow a shot on either attempt. Longwood didn't register another shot in the final three minutes of action as CU sealed the quarterfinal victory.

"It was really exciting to see our guys respond in the second half because our message at halftime was just believe," said Fonder. "We were right were we wanted to be after playing a solid first half, it was just unfortunate to be down 2-1. You can either quit and move on or just dig in, and our guys kept fighting."

Longwood was first on the board in the 18th minute on a goal by Deana Bodie. Campos took a free kick just in front of the corner flag which found Bodie on the back post and he put the ball past Kennedy.

The lead only lasted five minutes as Farias, the Big South Attacking Player of the Year, scored his 15th goal of the season in the 23rd minute. Farias received a pass from Page at the top of the box and beat Canas 1-on-1. Farias had a chance to give CU a 2-1 advantage with a penalty kick attempt in the 33rd minute. However, Canas made an impressive diving save to keep the match tied at 1-1.

The Lancers re-took the lead off a goal from Willy Miezan in the 41st minute. Wyatt and Christian Keilty set up Miezan with a pair of solid passes which allowed him to score from close range.

Kennedy finished with four saves en route to his fourth victory of the season in net. Canas made eight saves in the losing effort. Farias had seven shots on goal while leading all players with six on frame.

Second-seeded Radford and sixth-seeded High Point will meet in Friday's other Big South Championship semifinal match. Radford was victorious over Gardner-Webb in the quarterfinals while High Point upset third-seeded and 11th-ranked Coastal Carolina on penalty kicks. The championship match is set for Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. and will feature both semifinal winners.

"I just want to give a special thanks to our administration for helping get an unbelievable crowd out here tonight to support us," said Fonder. "Also a big thanks to our grounds crew, who made the game field playable after all the rain we have gotten. We got here this morning and the field was under water. They worked tirelessly to make it playable and we really appreciate it."

2015 BIG SOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | ShopCamelGear.com | Download the GoCamels.com mobile app