ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Campbell University (9-6-2, 5-2-2) women's soccer team drew with Winthrop (5-9-2, 2-6-1), 0-0, on Saturday afternoon at the Winthrop Complex to close out the 2017 regular season.
"I give lots of credit to Winthrop's players," said head coach
Samar Azem. "They were extremely difficult to play against."
Azem continued, "We were fantastic defensively. Erin had two great saves and our center backs were amazing today. Big time performances from them."
The Orange and Black are currently ranked fourth in the Big South standings at the conclusion of the regular season. High Point and Longwood, who are currently tied for first with Liberty, will both play tonight to determine the final standings.
This is the second game of the season that has advanced to overtime, and CU had a record of 0-0-2 in extra time. On Oct. 4, the Orange and Black tied, 2-2, with Longwood in Farmville, Va.
Winthrop started the match with momentum, as the Eagles fired away the first three shots of the game, all within the first 20 minutes of play. WU's Gabi Hull had a shot on goal in the ninth minute, but
Erin Scott came up with a big save to keep it scoreless.
Rosie O'Neal registered Campbell's first shot of the game in the 24th minute of play, but Winthrop goalkeeper Ashlynn Harris came up with the save.
CU secured its first corner in the 31st minute, but
Alexa Genas' shot off the
Shannon Wratchford kick was blocked by the WU defensive line.
In the 41st minute, Scott came up with a key save off a shot by Jill White to keep the Eagles off the board at the half. At the end of the opening frame, Winthrop held a 7-3 advantage in shots, but the Campbell defense managed to hold strong.
The Orange and Black had a multitude of scoring opportunities in the second frame, but the Camels could not put one in the back of the net, sending the match to overtime.
Kylee Arno had a shot on frame just 21 seconds into the half, but it was saved back into play by Harris. Wratchford received the ball and headed it into the back of the net for CU. However, Wratchford was ruled offsides and it remained tied at 0-0.
Arno had another shot on goal in the 50th minute of play, but Harris once again came up with a big save to keep the Camels off the board.
McKenna de Graaf had a scoring chance in the 65th minutes, as she headed the ball towards the goal off a corner kick by Wratchford, but it went just wide of the frame. Three minutes later, fellow defender
Anna Brantley fired away a shot, but Harris came up with another big save.
de Graaf got her head on the ball on another CU corner kick in the 86th minute of play, but her shot went just high of the crossbar.
The match remained scoreless at the end of the 90 minutes of regulation to send the match to overtime.
Winthrop dominated the first overtime period with two shots and three corner kicks to Campbell's zero.
In the final overtime period, Campbell had several chances to break the tie with four shots in the first four minutes.
Genas registered an on-target shot in the 102nd minute that was saved back into play by Harris.
Abby Major headed the rebound towards the goal, but the attempt went off the crossbar.
Campbell fired away 16 shots over the course of the match to Winthrop's 14. CU held a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal and had an 11-3 lead in corner kicks. Genas paced the Camels' attack with five shots on the day, including one on frame.
"I am proud of this team for our season. We overachieved expectations. Now we begin the third part of our season with postseason play. We are focused on getting better each day," said Azem.
Up next, the Camels will host the opening round of the Big South Tournament next weekend at the Eakes Athletics Complex. For the latest information about Campbell women's soccer, make sure to follow @GoCamelsWSOC on Twitter.
