BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Alexa Genas notched her third hat trick of the season to lead Campbell (7-4-0, 3-0-0) over UNC Asheville (4-6-1, 0-2-0) by a score of 4-2 at the Eakes Athletics Complex on Saturday evening.

UNC Asheville's Courtney Naber netted two goals in the opening 10 minutes of play, but CU scored four unanswered goals to secure the victory and remain unbeaten in Big South play.

"We didn't set the tone and tempo in the beginning of the game," said head coach Samar Azem. "I think that's our youthfulness coming out. Our youthfulness came out in a very resilient way too because it's hard to be down 2-0 that early in a game."

Genas netted goals in the 23rd, 33rd and 83rd minutes of play, while Mackenzie Southern scored the game-winner for CU in the 68th minute. This was Southern's second career goal and her first since 2015.

Genas now has 13 goals on the season, which stands alone for second place in the nation. She is also ranked second in the NCAA in goals per game (1.18), total points (29) and points per game (2.64). Through just 11 games, the Albuquerque, N.M., native's goal tally is tied for fourth in program history for goals in a season.

"I've never coached a player that has had that much success in the attack. She's having an unbelievable year and I'm so proud of her," said Azem.

Asheville shocked the Camels in the opening minutes of play, as the Bulldogs got on the board in just the sixth minute of play. Naber fired away a shot from 20 yards out to the top left corner of the goal past the outstretched arms of CU goalkeeper Erin Scott.

Four minutes later, Naber doubled the Bulldogs' lead off another shot from distance. Naber eluded a CU defender, and registered a shot from the left corner of the box into the far corner of the goal. The Bulldog attacker now has six goals on the season, which is tied for third in the Big South.

UNC Asheville threatened to go up 3-0 in the 17th minute off a powerful shot by Emma Houser. CU managed to catch a lucky break, as the ball bounced off the crossbar. Alison Kurucz corralled the rebound, but it was blocked by the Camel defense.

Genas got the Camels' scoring underway in the 23rd minute of play following a give-and-go with Shannon Wratchford. She received the ball at the left corner of the 6 yard box and tapped the ball into the far post to halve Asheville's lead.

In the 33rd minute, Genas was awarded a penalty kick after being taken down in the box by a UNC Asheville defender. She converted on her second PK of the year to knot up the game at 2-2.

Asheville came out of the halftime break with resolve, firing away five shots in the first 15 minutes of the second frame. However, the Bulldogs were unable to convert on the opportunities, leaving the door open for the Fighting Camels.

The Camels capitalized on the opportunity, as Southern netted the game-winning goal in the 68th minute to give CU its first lead of the game. She eluded an Asheville defender, squared up at the top of the box, and put it into the back of the net to put CU up, 3-2.

Genas scored her third goal of the game in the 83rd minute of play to put the game out of reach for UNC Asheville. She received the ball from Siara Southerland and registered a shot from 5 yards out past Asheville goalkeeper Bryson Lee.

Campbell fired away 11 shots over the course of the game to UNC Asheville's 13. The Camels held the advantage in both shots on goal (9-5) and corner kicks (11-3). Genas paced the CU attack with four shots against the Bulldogs.  

"We'll definitely learn from some of the areas where we fell short today, but we're also going to celebrate some of the ways that we persevered," said Azem.

Up next, the Camels will continue Big South play versus Longwood on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Farmville, Va. For the latest information about Campbell women's soccer, make sure to follow @GoCamelsWSOC on Twitter.