BUIES CREEK, N.C. - The top teams in the Big South meet Saturday night as Campbell hosts USC Upstate for a 7:00 p.m. start at Eakes Athletics Complex. The Spartans (7-3-3, 5-1) sit in first-place in the conference standings with 15 points while the Camels (8-3-3, 4-0-2) sit in second-place with 14 points.
PINK NIGHT: The Camels will wear pink warm-up shirts along with pink socks during the match in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness.
LAST TIME OUT: Campbell overcame an early deficit and earned a 3-1 win at Charleston Southern, extending its unbeaten streak to 10 games. After a Buccaneers goal in the 13th, the Camels responded with the equalizer in the 27th minute as Jessica Donald scored on a cross from Olivia Neal. Jackie Richards scored the eventual game-winner in the 63rd minute while Laney Peabody's corner kick header added insurance in the 73rd.
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday marks the 9th meeting between Campbell and USC Upstate with the Camels leading the series 7-1. Campbell has won the past seven matchups since 2008, outscoring the Spartans 24-2 in that span. Upstate's last win in the series came in the inaugural meeting back in 2007.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: USC Upstate owns a 7-3-3 record overall and sits atop the Big South table with a 5-1 record in conference play. Freshman forward Dara Russo leads the team with five goals and 10 points while junior midfielder Ashley Finn and forward Sydney Thomas have two goals and one assist apiece. Goalkeeper Cora Brendle leads the conference with a 0.858 goals against average. The Spartans are led by first-year head coach Sharif Saber who spent his first four seasons compiling a 42-15-5 record as a head coach at Mount Olive from 2018-22.
UNBEATEN STREAK TO 10: Campbell improved its unbeaten streak (8-0-2) to 10 games following a 3-1 win over Charleston Southern on Wednesday. The streak started with a 3-0 win over Richmond on September 1, following three-straight losses to a pair of teams that advanced to last season's NCAA Tournament (Clemson, NC State) and a Liberty team that reached the NCAA Tournament in the spring 2020-21 season. The Camels have had unbeaten streaks of five or more games in each of the past three seasons; 2021 - six games (twice), 2020-21 - eight games, 2019 - nine games. The current 10 match unbeaten streak is the second-longest in program history behind a 17 match unbeaten streak in the 2004 season.
BIG SOUTH DOMINANCE: The Camels have compiled a 27-4-4 record in Big South regular season play since the 2019 season, outscoring conference foes 87-25 in that span.
POINT PRODUCERS: Eleven different players have recorded two points or more for Campbell through 14 matches this season. Jackie Richards leads with 17 points (five goals, seven assists) followed by Jessica Donald with 16 points (5 goals, four assists) and Elyssa Nowowieski (4g, 5a) with 13 points.
SHARING IS CARING: Campbell ranks 24th nationally with 2.29 assists per game and 21st with 32 total assists. Nine different Camels have assisted on goals this season led by Jackie Richards (7) and Elyssa Nowowieski/Mary Tierney (5).
HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE: Campbell is 24-4-4 in home games dating back to the 2019 season, outscoring opponents 90-27 in that span.
HEAD COACH JEFF GROSS (UMBC '93) is in his first season at Campbell and as a head coach. Gross spent the last eight seasons, including the last two as associate head coach, on the staff at UNC Greensboro. While at UNCG, Gross helped guide the Spartans to back-to-back Southern Conference championships and NCAA College Cup appearances in 2017 and 2018. Gross takes over a program that is coming off consecutive trips to the Big South Conference championship game as well as an appearance in the 2020-21 NCAA tournament.
$30K FOR 30 CAMPAIGN: Campbell University head coach Jeff Gross has announced the $30K for the 30th anniversary season campaign to benefit the Fighting Camels program. In recognition of the 30th anniversary of Campbell's first women's soccer season in 1992, the program is setting a fund-raising goal of $30,000 for a number of enhancements.
