LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Campbell University (7-4-0, 3-1-1) women's soccer team dropped its first Big South contest of the season to Liberty (6-5-3, 4-0-1), 1-0, on Saturday evening at Osborne Stadium.

"I thought we played extremely well tonight," said head coach Samar Azem. "We were very dangerous as a group. Sometimes the game is cruel. Sometimes you're on the right side, but today wer were on the wrong side."

Azem continued, "We hit the post twice and Liberty did a great job of clearing four to five shots off the line. Habuda scored a great goal and Kardos got the end line well. We expected it and we have to recognize that we can't give good players opportunities."

This is just the third time this season that the Camels' prolific attack has not managed to put one in the back of the net. The last shutout came against ECU on Aug. 31, a 1-0 victory for the Pirates in Buies Creek. 

Isabella Habuda scored the game-winning goal for the Flames in the 62nd minute of play, and the Camels could not manage a third-consecutive comeback. The Fighting Camels previously mounted comeback efforts versus UNC Asheville and Longwood.

The offensive opportunities were few and far between in the first half, as both sides combined for seven shots during the opening 45 minutes.

Rosie O'Neal got the offense rolling with two shots in the opening 20 minutes of play, but both were saved by Liberty goalkeeper Melody Jayroe.

Both Liberty and Campbell had team saves in the latter part of the opening frame to keep it scoreless headed into the halftime break.

In the 35th minute, Liberty's Sarah Erickson headed the ball towards goal following a corner kick by Abigail Persson, but it was saved off of the goal line by the Camel defense. The Flames' defense followed up with a team save of their own in the 40th minute of play to keep Siara Southerland's shot out of the back of the net.

The beginning minutes of the second half proved to be a defensive battle, as neither squad registered a shot during the first 12 minutes of play. Liberty's Bertha Martinez fired away the first shot of the second frame, which was corralled by CU goalkeeper Erin Scott.

Anna Brantley and Shelby Denkert both registered shots in the 60th minute of play off a corner kick by Taylor Koester, but neither could find the back of the net for the Camels.

Liberty's attack broke through the Camel defense in the 62nd minute, as Isabella Habuda registered her fifth goal of the season off a cross by Kayleigh Kardos. Habuda headed the ball into the back of the net past Scott to put the Flames up, 1-0.

CU had a number of opportunities for an equalizer in the final 25 minutes of play, but none could get past the Flames' defensive line. Amanda Crecelius, Alexa Genas, Koester, O'Neal, Mackenzie Southern and Skylar Wilcox all registered shots for the Fighting Camels.

Campbell fired away 13 shots over the course of the match to Liberty's 12. CU also held the advantage in shots on goal (6-5) and corner kicks (10-3). Scott corralled four shots by the Flames, while Jayroe had six saves on the day.

"This is a defining game for us. It will make us even better, and I'm excited about it. We love the way our girls respond, and I know they want this game back. Our focus is on Charleston Southern now," said Azem.

Up next, the Fighting Camels will host Charleston Southern on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Eakes Athletics Complex. For the latest information about Campbell women's soccer, make sure to follow @GoCamelsWSOC on Twitter.