BOX SCORE

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – For the second straight outing, Radford rallied from a first-half deficit as the Highlanders defeated Campbell, 2-1, in both team's Big South men's soccer opener Wednesday evening at the Eakes Athletic Complex.

"This was a very tough place to start out Big South play and we are very happy with the result," said Radford head coach Marc Reeves. “Campbell is a talented group and we did not play well tonight at all."
 
The Highlanders (5-3-0, 1-0-0 Big South) rode a 49th-minute own goal and Bernardo Ulmo (Sao Paulo, Brazil / South Kent)'s 65th minute free kick to its fourth victory in the last five outings. 

"I think as you can see from many teams non-conference results early on in the season the league will be very strong, so anytime you can get three points home or away is great."
 
After Radford controlled most of the possession early in the contest, including a pair of scoring chances by Iyiola Awosika (London, England / Aylesbury Grammar) and one by Luis Grande (Caracas, Venezuela / U.E. Colegio Los Arcos), Campbell (3-5-1, 0-1-0 Big South) got on the board when Jhuvon Francis put away a Justin Franz attempt that caromed off the post.
 
With less than 30 seconds to play in the opening half, Radford had an opportunity to tie the score when Anthony Payne (Manassas, Va. / Osbourn Park)'s corner kick was headed back to defender James Jordan (Dartford, England / Dartford Grammar), who missed with a right-footed attempt just wide.
 
Radford equalized in the 49th minute when Payne sent a low corner kick to the near post and it deflected off Campbell's Mitchell Cardenas inside the right post.
 
Following near misses by both Brian Gwanzura (Harare, Zimbabwe / Harare) and Dario Redondo (Woodbridge, Va. / Garfield) just minutes apart, the Highlanders' took the lead in the 65^th minute on Ulmo's free kick from 25-yards out that curled around the wall and inside the left post.
 
Radford's Chel Ho Kim Park (Santander, Spain) threatened a number of times late in the contest, including a couple of blasts, but was unable to convert and extend the lead.

"We were poor tonight in our attacking choices and need to be better at creating quality chances on goals. We defended better in the second half, but still have many things to improve on."
 
Radford finished with an 18-16 edge in corners and took three more corners (10-7) than the Camels.
 
Both keepers recorded five saves, but none bigger than Ryan Taylor (Midlothian, Va. / Midlothian)'s diving stop on Francis' game-tying attempt with just eight seconds to play.

"Ryan made a big save at the end of the first half to keep it at 1-0 and an even better stop in the dying seconds of the game for us to hold on to a great road win," Reeves said.
 
The Highlanders return home for a 2 p.m. contest with Asheville Saturday afternoon at Cupp Stadium.