BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell and USC Upstate played to a 1-1 draw through regulation and two overtime periods before the Spartans advanced to Saturday's Big South final following a penalty kick shootout.
 
After the teams played to a tie for the second time this season, third-seeded Upstate (6-3-2) will advance to Saturday's 7 p.m. Big South final at top seed High Point, which defeated UNC Asheville 1-0 in the second minute of overtime.
 
In the shootout, all four Spartans - Pascal Corvino,  Filippo Censini, Pol Monells and Alex Ljusberg – converted their attempts.  Franck Momo and Diego Konincks made the first two tries for the Camels, but PKs by Tyler Young and Sami Charaf Amal sailed over the cross bar.
 
The two-time defending champion Camels (8-2-2) jumped in front in the 16th minute when Konincks headed down Amal's free kick in the box to freshman Owen Mikoy, who slotted home a right-footed effort for his first career goal.
 
The Camels, who were missing two starters due to COVID-19 protocols, held an 8-3 edge in shots in the opening period and were 45 minutes away from advancing to a third-straight Big South title game, but Upstate equalized just 11 seconds into the second period. 
 
Mario Arrocha stole the ball in the midfield then hit a low ball through traffic just inside the right post.  Arrocha nearly put Upstate ahead 10 minutes later when his header hit the post. 
 
In the 90th minute, Javier Torres hit a low shot from a sharp angle that was headed for the left corner of the net, but Campbell's Braden Teller cleared the ball off the line and the game went into extra time.
 
As the final seconds of the first overtime period ticked down, Konincks' header off Matt Lock's corner kick barely sailed over the bar.
 
Upstate keeper Felipe Baeza was able to get enough of a hand on Young's volley in the 106th to deflect the ball off the bar and keep the match scoreless.  The Spartans had one final chance with less than 3 seconds to play when Monells lined up a 20 yard free kick, but shot into the wall.
 
Camel senior keeper Samuel Lechuga, who ended his career tied with Aaron Johnson for the second-most shutouts (21) in school history, finished with five saves.  Baeza had three in the Upstate nets.
 
Upstate finished with a 15-12 edge in shots, while the Camels had 10 corner kicks to six for the visitors.
 
Dating to the 2018 season, Campbell stands 18-1-3 in its last 22 matches against Big South competition.