No. 4 Campbell Draws 0-0 at No. 1 High Point; Advances to Big South Final in PKs
Samuel Lechuga made three saves in the penalty kick shootout and Campbell advanced to the Big South men’s soccer championship after a 0-0 draw Wednesday at No.-13 High Point.
Gideon Betz, Thibaut Jacquel and Ben Morrison converted their spot kicks and the fourth-seeded Camels (8-8-3) will travel to third seed Presbyterian (8-11-0) for Sunday’s 2:00 p.m. Big South final with an automatic berth in the NCAA Championship at stake.
High Point (13-2-2), which fell to Presbyterian in penalties in the 2017 Big South final, awaits a possible at-large berth to NCAA post-season play.
“It was a hard-fought game and could have gone either way,” said fourth-year Campbell head coach, who has guided the program to its first league title game since the 2008 A-Sun final. “High Point is the number-one seed and well-deserved. But we also play them tough and match up well with them. “
Campbell is the only team in the Big South that High Point has been unable to defeat over the last two years. The Camels won 1-0 last year in High Point; then played the nationally-ranked Panthers to a 1-1 draw last month in Buies Creek. The two-time regular season champs were 14-0-0 against the rest of the league over the past two years.
JJ Donnelly nearly ended the game in the 105th minute when his header beat High Point keeper Keegan Meyer, but clanged off the cross bar. Alex Egeonu kept the ball alive, and Donnelly’s point-blank effort was steered away.
Through 110 minutes, Campbell outshot High Point 14-8, including a 6-0 edge in overtime. Lechuga finished with three saves to earn his sixth shutout of the year, while Meyer had five stops in his seventh clean sheet.
Campbell won a shootout in the post season for the first time since the 2007 A-Sun final, when the Camels drew with Jacksonville, but advanced to the NCAA tournament after a 5-4 PK decision.
In 200 minutes of game action – including last Sunday’s 3-0 win over Gardner-Webb, Campbell has allowed only four shots on target – none Wednesday’s second half or extra time.
A scoreless first half included four shots by each team, when Camel keeper Samuel Lechuga left his feet for a pair of saves.
Bastien Oberli’s 30-yard free kick in the 16th minute was on target, but High Point keeper Keegan Meyer. In the 28th minute, Jonathan Bolonos rose for a header that forced Lechuga to dive to his left to save.
JJ Donnelly rose for a header on Oberli’s 33rd minute corner and the ball was loose in the box, but Meyer recovered before the Camels could convert.
Big South Attacking Player of the Year Ilias Kosimidis struck a low right-footed shot in the 37th minute that Lechuga dove to make an acrobatic save to keep the game scoreless.
Aigbekan Nosegbe hit a dipping left footed shot in the 39th minute that Meyer covered on the bounce.
High Point’s best opportunity came early in the second half when Bana Ganidekam dribbled free into the box on the right side, but his low shot stayed wide of Lechuga’s right post.
Thibaut Jacquel’s 67th minute header off Josh Signey’s cross stayed just high of the bar.
Campbell nearly took the lead after 80 minutes when Donnelly turned at the top of the area, and his heavy right-footed effort deflected just wide of the left post.
The Camels outshot the hosts 3-0 in the first overtime period, and Egeonu’s95th minute header was on target, but Meyer rose to make the stop.