HIGH POINT, N.C. – Campbell women's soccer opened the 2023 campaign with a 2-2 draw against former conference rival High Point Thursday evening at Vert Stadium.
This makes back-to-back years the Camels (0-0-1) open the season with a tie, drawing against Mercer in last year's opener.
The Camels' first chance of the game came in the ninth minute when
Emely Rubio connected on the end of a corner from
Cazzi Norgren, but the ball fell harmlessly into the arms of the keeper.
Campbell broke the deadlock in the 30
th minute, scoring the first goal of the 2023 season.
Olivia Neal drove down the left side and crossed it into the box. The ball fell to
Reagan Baiotto who fired a one-timer right at the goalie, who was unable to corral the loose ball.
Kaleigh Backlund pounced on it to fire the Camels in front.
The Fighting Camels added to their lead five minutes after halftime to make the score 2-0.
Amber Liston won the ball back in the attacking third and carried it to just outside the box before looping in a cross. Freshman
Alyssa Tucker was all alone in the center of the box and hit a running header off the left post before crossing the goal line.
The Panthers pulled one back in the 58
th minute off an own goal from by the Camels. In the 74
th minute, High Point equalized, 2-2, when Meg Roden found the back of the net on a shot outside the box.
Liston had a chance in the 82
nd minute, forcing a diving save from the Panthers goalkeeper. Neither team created any chances in the final minutes, ending in a 2-2 tie.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Jeff Gross
On the play in the first half:
"In the first half, I felt like we worked our way toward being the better team. In the first half of the first game of the year, you're just looking for the identity, and I felt like we did that."
On Tucker's goal:
"It was good football to get to that point. And then, you get someone of [Liston's] quality on the ball, it's a great ball from her. That's what Alyssa does. She's good in front of the goal, so that was a really good finish."
On moving forward with the tie:
"We just have to keep grinding on the identity of the group and how we're going to be organized and try to play. This will be one step, and we'll learn from it…The players are really good at learning, so they'll figure some things out and then we'll go play a really good ODU team."
UP NEXT
The Camels travel to Norfolk, Va. To take on Old Dominion on Sunday. Kick-off is set for 6 p.m. at the ODU Soccer Complex, and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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