Buies Creek – Campbell men’s soccer coach Dustin Fonder has announced the team’s 20-match 2016 schedule featuring four contests against 2015 NCAA Tournament participants. The slate includes 10 regular season matches at the Eakes Athletic Complex, the most since 2003.
“We are really excited about the challenging schedule that we have put together for the boys,” said Fonder. “We were able to secure 10 home matches and now must get our team prepared to defend home turf. We also need to see all of the Campbell University community come out and be our 12th man.”
Campbell will begin the year with a pair of home exhibition matches to kick off the 2016 campaign. CU welcomes Elon to Buies Creek on Wednesday, August 17. The Phoenix claimed a share of the CAA championship last season and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Camels will close out their preseason slate onSaturday, August 20 against Division II Chowan.
Campbell opens the 2016 regular season at home against familiar rival UNC Wilmington on Friday, August 26. The Camels have faced the Seahawks more than any other opponent in their 53-year history with the first match dating back to 1966. The upcoming contest will mark their 51st meeting with CU holding a narrow 26-22-2 edge in the all-time series. UNCW won last year’s match on its home turf.
Campbell will meet former Atlantic Sun rival North Florida at the Eakes Complex onFriday, September 2. It will be the first meeting between the Camels and Ospreys as non-conference foes and seventh overall with the sides last squaring off in 2010. North Florida is coming off an Atlantic Sun championship and NCAA Tournament berth.
The Camels will hit the road for the first time on Tuesday, September 6 when they head to Washington D.C. to face Howard. It will be the inaugural meeting between the two sides. CU returns home to take on William & Mary on Saturday, September 10. The Tribe and Camels last squared off in 2009.
CU heads to in-state rival UNC Greensboro on Saturday, September 17 for the 23rd meeting in the all-time series. The Camels last faced the Spartans in 2014 and dropped a narrow 1-0 decision in the season opener. Campbell has a quick turnaround before welcoming Belmont to Buies Creek on Tuesday, September 20. CU rallied to defeat the Bruins 3-2 last season on the road after netting the game-winner in the 87th minute.
Campbell’s Big South opener is set for September 24 on the road at Gardner-Webb and it kicks off a three-match road swing. The Camels defeated the Runnnin’ Bulldogs 4-2 last season to take a 10-3-1 advantage in the all-time series. CU will quickly step out of conference play on Tuesday, September 27 for a road contest at Georgia Southern. It will be the eighth meeting all-time and the first since 2009.
The Camels will travel to Farmville, Virginia to face Longwood on Saturday, October 1. CU finished 1-1 against LWU last season. The Lancers won the regular season contest 2-1 but Campbell earned a thrilling 3-2 victory in the Big South Championship Quarterfinals.
Campbell opens a three-match homestand on Tuesday, October 4 with a tough test against defending Big South Champions Winthrop. The Eagles took both contests last season including the Big South Championship Semifinal match. UNC Asheville travels to the Creek on Saturday, October 8. The Camels topped the Bulldogs 1-0 on the road last season and leads the all-time series 14-3-1.
CU will take on Old Dominion for the first time since 2004 on Tuesday, October 11 at the Eakes Complex. It will be the seventh meeting in the all-time series. Campbell returns to conference play with a Friday, October 14 contest at Liberty. CU topped LU 2-1 in its regular season home finale last season.
Campbell will travel to face ACC power Duke on Tuesday, October 18 in Durham. It will be the 21st meeting against the Blue Devils and the first since 2004. CU will entertain Presbyterian on Saturday, October 22 in Big South action. The Camels earned a 3-1 victory at PC last season.
CU plays its final non-conference game of the season at home on Tuesday, October 25 against Appalachian State. It will be the 17th all-time meeting against the Mountaineers and the first since 2010. The Camels will hit the road for the last time in the regular season on Saturday, October 29 at Radford. The Highlanders defeated Campbell 2-0 on a rain-soaked field at the Eakes Complex en route to earning an at-large bid to last year’s NCAA Tournament.
The regular season finale is set for Wednesday, November 2 at home versus High Point. The Camels earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the Panthers on the road last season. It was their first victory in the all-time series since 2012.
The Big South has announced a new championship format for next season. The top six teams will advance to the postseason with the top two seeds earning byes into the semifinals. The third and fourth seeds will host quarterfinal matches on its home fields Sunday, November 6.
The winners will advance to play the top two seeds on their campuses Wednesday, November 9. The highest remaining seed of the two semifinal winners will host the championship final on its home field Sunday, November 13. The Big South champion receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
All of Campbell’s regular season contests will start at 7 p.m. with the lone exception being the match at Howard set to begin at 4 p.m.
