BUIES CREEK — Campbell women's soccer opens the 2026 season on the road against Longwood on Thursday night at Longwood Athletics Complex. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
The Camels then welcome App State for its home opener on August 16 at Eakes Athletics Complex. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. and will be streamed on FloCollege.
Game information vs. Longwood
DATE: Thursday, August 13 | 6 PM
WHERE: Longwood Athletics Complex | Farmville, Va.
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS
SERIES HISTORY (vs. Longwood)
- Thursday's match marks the 19th all-time meeting between the two programs.
- Campbell leads the overall series 10-5-3.
- The Camels are 6-2-2 in the last 10 matchups.
- In Farmville, the Camels hold a 4-3-1 advantage.
- The former Big South foes last met in 2022 as the Camels won 8-0 in Buies Creek.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT (Longwood)
- Longwood finished the 2025 season with a 9-7-3 overall record and made an appearance in the Big South Championship semifinals. The Lancers were picked to finish third in the Big South preseason poll.
- Forward Sam Fischer was named 2026 Big South Preseason Forward of the Year after earning Big South Freshman of the Year last season. The first-team selection led the Lancers in goals and points.
Game information vs. App State
DATE: Sunday, August 16 | 5 PM
WHERE: Eakes Athletics Complex | Buies Creek, N.C.
WATCH: FloCollege
LIVE STATS
SERIES HISTORY (vs. App State)
- Sunday's match marks the 12th all-time meeting between the two squads dating back to 1994.
- Campbell leads the overall series 5-4-2
- The squads last met during the 2018 season as the Mountaineers won 3-0 in Boone.
- The Camels are looking for their first win over App State since the 2017 season after defeating the Mountaineers 1-0 in Buies Creek.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT (App State)
- App State finished the 2025 season with a 7-7-3 overall record.
- The Mountaineers were picked to finish eighth in the Sun Belt preseason poll.
- Elle Garrison returns as the top scorer for the Mountaineers after netting five last season. She leads all returners with 11 points and added an assist during 2025.
SETTING THE SCENE
- Campbell women's soccer opens up its 2026 campaign on the road Thursday, Aug. 13, facing Longwood at Longwood Athletics Complex. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
- The Camels then host App State on August 16 for its home opener at Eakes Athletics Complex. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. on FloCollege.
2025 SEASON RECAP
- Campbell finished the season with a 4-7-5 overall record and 2-4-3 in the CAA.
LEADING GOAL SCORER
- Forward Ava Kanaar looks to continue leading the Camels front after posting a team-high four goals last season.
- Kanaar finished the season scoring a goal in the three of the final four matches.
- She led the squad with 10 points, four goals, and is second on the team in total shots (17) and shots on goal (11).
FEPESSI FILES
- Zahra Fepessi was tabbed third-team All-CAA during the 2025 season.
- The junior appeared in 10 games for the Camels making five starts.
- Fepessi finished second on the team with three goals and registered 535 minutes played.
- The Sanford native scored her first collegiate goal against Stony Brook on Sept. 18 and tied for third on the team with six points on the season.
ALL-ROOKIE
- Samantha Witte was tabbed to the 2025 CAA All-Rookie team to open her Campbell playing career.
- Witte appeared in all 16 games making 10 starts. The freshman scored her first collegiate goal against Towson on Oct. 16 and added an assist in the match for a season high three points. She finished second on the team with three assists and fifth with five points.
CLEAN SHEETS
- Senior goalkeeper Anais van Doesburg looks to continue her success in goal for the Camels in her final season. Last season, van Doesburg posted back-to-back shutouts to open the season. The last time the Camels posted back-to-back shutouts to open the season was in 2011. van Doesburg finished with three shutouts last season.
WHAT THE POLLS SAY
- Campbell was picked to finish fifth in the South division with 27 total points. Elon was picked to finish first in the division with eight first place votes followed by UNCW (56) who finished with four first place votes and William & Mary (44). Charleston (41) was picked to finish fourth ahead of the Camels (27) and Hampton (16) rounded out the division.
LEADING THE WAY
- Head Coach Jeff Gross (UMBC '91) enters his fifth season at Campbell and as a head coach. Gross spent the previous 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 took 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.
NEWCOMERS IN THE CREEK
