George Bediko (top), Kemy Amiche (middle) and Jake Morris (17) celebrate a second-half goal. (Photo/Bennett Scarborough/Scarborough Photography)
BUIES CREEK — Daniel Hernandez scored three goals, Kemy Amiche had three assists and a goal and Campbell rolled to a 7-0 win over Winthrop Wednesday night in the Big South Conference semifinal round at the Eakes Complex.
Kyoji Hata scored twice, Jake Morris added a goal and Edu Rodriguez logged his fourth-straight shutout in the nets for the regular season champion Camels (14-3-2), who scored on seven of 13 shots to eliminate fourth-seeded Winthrop (8-10).
Campbell will host second seeded High Point (8-6-3) on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Big South final on ESPN+. The winner will receive the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA College Cup.
“Our plan was to come out and press them high and give ourselves a chance to pinch a goal early,” said Campbell coach Dustin Fonder, who notched his 150th career win. “For us to find multiple goals was a nice way to start the game. Our group overall was locked in and had a desire to get a result tonight. When everyone is bought in like that, that’s when results come.”
Amiche set up Hernandez with free kicks for headers in the seventh and 18th minutes, then knocked in Hernandez’ rebound on the 20-minute mark to give the Camels a 3-0 lead.
Hernandez completed the hat trick just 5:23 into the second half when he dribbled around Winthrop keeper Sam Jones for his eighth of the season to start a four-goal outburst in a 6:20 span.
Morris blasted in his fifth of the year on a right-footed shot after Amiche left the ball for him with a back heel pass in the 53rd minute. Hata scored his first two goals in a Camel uniform just 61 seconds apart on assists from Morales (56th minute) and Morris (57th).
Entering the contest as the nation’s eighth-highest scoring team (2.44 goals per game), the Camels posted their highest offensive output of the season to set up a rematch of the 2019 final with the Panthers in Buies Creek. High Point defeated sixth seed Gardner-Webb 5-0 Wednesday evening.
Ranked No. 30 in the nation in the latest College Soccer News poll, Campbell extended its unbeaten streak to nine matches (8-0-1).
Rodriguez finished with four saves – including difficult stops on attempts by Jonathan Foster and Sean Green in the 50th and 54th minutes – to extend his personal shutout streak to 604 minutes. He collected his sixth clean sheet of the season.
Campbell, which earned its third trip to the league final in four seasons, is now 26-1-4 in its last 31 games (regular season and tournament) vs. Big South foes.
NOTES: Under Fonder’s guidance, Campbell owns a 5-1-1 record in Big South tournament games played in Buies Creek. His overall coaching record stands at 150-107-30, including a 78-63-18 mark in eight seasons at High Point. … The Camels have won four straight and six of the last seven meetings overall against Winthrop. … Campbell improved to 26-2-4 in its last 32 matches at the Eakes Complex, including a 9-1-1 mark in the 2021 season.
(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)
