Date Posted: 11/14/2007

DeLAND, Fla. - Campbell scored early and often in bouncing the defending A-Sun champion Gardner-Webb by the count of 6-1 on Wednesday at the Stetson Soccer Complex. Richard Jata, a member of the All-Atlantic Sun First Team scored twice as did Vince Petrasso as the Camels scored the most goals in an Atlantic Sun Men's Soccer Championship match since Houston Baptist beat Samford 12-0 at the 1985 Championship.

Petrasso, who scored one goal in regular season found the back of the net twice in a four-minute span to triple his goal total for the season. Petrasso, a sophomore from Woodbridge, Ontario who missed part of the season due to injury, scored his first goal in the eighth minute after picking up a loose ball and scored the second after an assist from Josue Soto.

"It happened that I started scoring at the end of the season; I'd been unlucky at the beginning of the season," Petrasso said. "My teammates had been teasing me about scoring. They said it would be when it counts and I guess it counted tonight."

Gardner-Webb cut the deficit to one five minutes after Petrasso's second goal when Miguel Pinzon capitalized on a penalty kick in the 17th minute. The lead remained a single goal for over 20 minutes until Jata banged in a header off a free kick from Soto. Following the score, Jata performed his traditional goal celebration by performing the front flip. Jata would score nine minutes into the second half when he beat the keeper for his eighth tally of the season. Jata and the Camels extended their win streak in matches in which Jata scores a goal. Since the start of 2006, the Camels own a 12-0-0 record in such games.

"[The flip] is my traditional celebration. I did it once and I stuck with it," Jata said. "On the second goal, my family is here and they missed the first goal so I thought I might go over and say hello."

Khalil Johnson and Jason Keever added goals later in the second half. Keever assisted on Johnson's score in the 60th minute. Keever scored on the second penalty kick of the night. The five-goal margin represents the largest in A-Sun Championship play since FAU defeated Georgia State, 5-0, in the first round of the 1999 Championship. The five-goal win also ended Campbell"s streak of matches decided in a tie or by one goal at 18.

"We were up 2-0 and everybody says you worry about that scoreline," Campbell head coach Doug Hess said. "The next thing you know, they get a penalty and then they're back in the game and they have life again. We're always talking 'consecutive goals win games.' Once we got the third, we got the fourth and I felt like at that point it's more manageable."

The six goals for the Camels represent the most for the squad in a single game since hanging seven on Stetson on October 6, 2005. The total represents the seven-highest single-game total in Championship history. Among the six teams to score more in a game than the Camels, all six went on to win their next match. Something would have to give as the third seed has not won a semifinal match in seven previous seasons the Championship has used the six-team, single elimination format. The third seed owns an 0-5-1 record in semifinal matches under the current format. Mercer advanced in 2004 after beating FAU in penalty kicks.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is a 12-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

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