The High Point University men's soccer team fell to Campbell, 3-1 on Wednesday night at the Eakes Athletic Complex on the campus of Campbell University. HPU falls to 1-4-2 while Campbell improves to 3-4-0 on the season.
Campbell jumped in front in the sixth minute when senior Scott Phillips scored his first goal of the year off Julian Fulton's sharp pass along the ground in the box.
The Panthers had a chance in the 24th minute but Camel keeper Aaron Johnson tipped Chris Archer's header off the bar to preserve the margin. Hilaire Babou also hit Johnson's crossbar in the 30th minute before a pair of Camel counter attacks provided CU with a 3-0 cushion.
Josh Elliott set up Jata in the 31st minute with a pass that split the High Point back line and Jata broke in free on HPU keeper Adam Ross to put the Camels up 2-0.
"We got off to a slow start and gave up a couple of goals early," said High Point University head coach Peter Broadley. "Campbell came out on fire. Our defense was struggling and they were able to jump out to the early lead."
Nearly 12 minutes later, Willy Guadarrama lofted a pass above the Panther defense that Jata controlled. Jata dribbled by Ross and scored his team-leading fifth goal of the year.
Archer's 77th minute volley spoiled the shutout for the Camels, but the Panthers were only able to put one more shot on target. High Point dropped to 1-4-2 on the year.
"We played really well in the second half," said Broadley. "We changed our line up a bit and added an extra forward up front to try and get back into it. With fifteen minutes to go we were controlling the ball and we thought we would be able to get two goals to get back into it, but it was just too much of a deficit and not enough time to cover."
Each team finished with 15 shots. Campbell had six on goal, while five High Point attempts were on target. Johnson finished with four saves in the Camel nets, while Ross had three for the Panthers.
"Campbell is a much better team than their record shows," Broadley said. "They have two very good players. Jata is one of the best I"ve seen this season, he's a very good attacking player."
Campbell's two-goal margin of victory marked only the second time since the annual series between the schools resumed in 1999, that the match has been decided by more than one strike. Campbell stands 4-0-1 vs. the Panthers in the last five years.
The Panthers return to the field on Sunday, Sept. 24 when they host Montreat. The rescheduled game from earlier in the season is set to begin at 2 p.m. at Richard Vert Track and Soccer Stadium on the campus of High Point University.
