Defending Champs Fall in First Round
November 15, 2007 | Men's Soccer
The Gardner-Webb men's soccer team was unable to defend its title in this year's A-Sun Championship Tournament. The Bulldogs fell, 1-6, to the Fightin' Camels of Campbell University in the first round. The six goals notched by Campbell are the most in an A-Sun men's soccer championship match since 1985.
The Camels attacked Gardner-Webb right out of the gate. CU's Vince Petrasso scored two early goals, one in the eight minute and one in the 12th minute, which stunned the Bulldogs.
Despite CU's two-goal lead, the Bulldogs kept fighting. Miguel Pinzone was able to bring the ‘Dogs within one after scoring off a penalty kick in the 17th minute. The goal punctured the Camels' spirits a little as both teams went scoreless for over 20 minutes.
The scoring drought ended when CU's Richard Jata headed in a cross from six yards out. The score put the Camels up 3-1 going into halftime.
The second half was all Campbell. Jata notched another goal nine minutes in to extend the lead to 4-1. After a goal midway through, the Camels finished it off by adding a late penalty kick to put the score at 6-1.
Despite the score, the Bulldogs deserved the right to defend their title. For a team plagued with injury, Gardner-Webb played a tough match that just didn't pan out in the end.
| Combined Stats |
| Box Score |
