BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The Campbell University (2-1-0) women's soccer team will host in-state opponent ECU (3-0-0) on Thursday afternoon. The match is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at the Eakes Athletics Complex.
The Fighting Camels are coming off of a 9-0 blanking of Chicago State on Sunday afternoon in the Creek. Eight different Camels netted goals to lead CU to the largest margin of victory since a 10-0 victory over Jacksonville in 1995.
The Orange and Black led the Cougars, 6-0, at halftime following goals by
Rosie O'Neal,
Skylar Wilcox,
Alexa Genas,
Anna Brantley,
Shannon Wratchford and an own goal by CSU.
Sydney Towns,
Siara Southerland and
McKenna de Graaf posted goals in the second half to leave the score at 9-0 as time expired.
Campbell fired away 32 shots, including 16 on frame, over the course of the match.
Kelly Ann Evans, Genas and Wratchford each posted a game high of four shots on the day. Six of the nine goals were assisted, with Erwin, Genas, Major, Southern, Southerland and Wratchford each with one.
CU has faced off against ECU on 15 occasions with an all-time record of 5-9-1. Despite the Pirates' advantage in the series, the goal differential is fairly even, as the Purple and Gold have the slight lead, 29-35. The two squad's last regular season contest came in 2014, a 1-0 victory for ECU in Greenville. The Camels hosted the Pirates for a preseason exhibition last season, which resulted in a 3-2 win for ECU.
ECU remains undefeated on the season following victories over Dayton, Davidson and Towson during the first two weeks of play. This is the first time that the Purple and Gold have started a season 3-0 since 2009.
Most recently, ECU played Towson, a 1-0 victory for the Pirates at home in Johnson Stadium. Freshman Cashlin Copley scored her first career goal, a header off of a set piece to give ECU the lead in the 11th minute of play. Michele Newhouse posted her first career shutout to preserve the clean sheet and defeat the Tigers.
ECU notched a record of 5-12-1 in 2016, including a 1-7-1 ledger in American Athletic Conference play. The Pirates missed out on qualifying for the conference tournament, but Lana Spliter earned Second Team All-AAC honors and Jayda Hylton-Pearia was named to the All-Rookie team.
In 2017, the Purple and Gold will need to make up for the loss of Spliter, who lead last year's team in goals (7), assists (5), points (19), shots (81), shots on goal (47) and game-winning goals (3). A freshman signing class of 14 joins the 2017 squad, including five midfielders, five defenders, two forwards and two goalies, to make up for the contributions of the six graduating seniors.
Fans unable to attend the match can listen to play-by-play audio on GoCamels.com or follow live stats, which can be accessed
here. For the most up-to-date information about Campbell women's soccer, make sure to follow @GoCamelsWSOC on Twitter.
Following Thursday's game, CU will hit the road for a matchup versus South Carolina on Saturday in Orangeburg, S.C. The match is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m. at Dawson Stadium.
