KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Campbellsville University men's soccer team dug itself a deep hole Monday night CU's first matchup of the NCCAA National Tournament against Southern Wesleyan. The Tigers could not come back from an early second half deficit of 2-0 and ended the match with a 2-1 loss.

"We started slow but in the second half we were on them," said CU head coach Adam Preston. "The last five minutes we had some good chances but didn't capitalize. We live by three things, you outwork your opponent, finish opportunities and don't make mistakes. And in this game if you cannot put those three things together you aren't going to win."

Campbellsville cut the score in half as Ross Lindsay and Lewis Fyfe both checked into the match and made their presence felt right away.

Lindsay placed a perfect corner kick into the box but Southern Wesleyan goalkeeper Ruben Rodriguez knocked the ball away. Fyfe was in the right place at the right time as the rebound came straight to his right foot. He shot from just outside the 18-yard box and the ball hit the right post and trickled in past Rodriguez. John Kennedy was credited for an assist on the play for putting a head on the ball.

CU was only down 2-1 in the 65th minute following the goal. After the score it seemed to give Campbellsville a little life and confidence. And Preston noticed the difference.

"I felt like we started to win opportunity after opportunity," said Preston. "When Lewis scored everyone believed we were going to come back. This team (SWU) was begging for the game to be over and started to play keep away the final few minutes because fatigue started to set in. But that is how the game goes and that's fair."

The confidence seemed to carry over throughout the rest of the match. The Tigers had five opportunities in the final 10 minutes but Adam Linderholm, a defensemen turned striker on all free/corner kicks, could not finish.

Southern Wesleyan took advantage of early mishaps by the Tigers to take a 1-0 lead only 8:26 into the game.

Bruno Liozzi was fouled just outside the 18-yard box and it seemed as if Campbellsville was waiting for the referee to blow his whistle to put the ball back in play. The Warrior midfielder thought otherwise and decided to quick-kick and his ball traveled into the back of the net before any of the Tigers knew what happened. SWU led 1-0 only 8:26 into the game.

"Our keeper thought the referee blew the ball dead," said Preston. "When that happens Max can move across and set his wall of defenders to protect the goal. But the referee said he did not blow his whistle for the play to be dead and they scored an easy goal. That is a mental mistake by our players by not standing close to the ball and forcing the referee to move them back by stopping play."

Campbellsville started to wake up a little after the early goal but Southern Wesleyan held on for a 1-0 halftime lead.

The Tigers' only scoring opportunities in the first 45 minutes came on a corner kick taken by Gustav Carlsson and a shot that missed high by Ryan Foster just outside the penalty box.


SWU added its second goal in the 47th minute when Jonathan Ruiz scored from 18 yards out.


Although the sluggish first half for CU, the shots were almost even as Southern Wesleyan outshot CU 12-11 in the game. Campbellsville used five shots on goal compared to the Warriors two.

The Tigers will have an off day tomorrow, as they will be back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. against Houghton College at Austin Tindell Soccer Complex. Southern Wesleyan can clinch a semifinal bid with win over Houghton on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. If Houghton wins Tuesday, CU can force a three-way tie for winner of Pool C with a win. Wednesday. The winner of each pool advances to the semifinals along with one wildcard.


To follow Campbellsville Tiger soccer throughout the NCCAA National Tournament, visit CU's Tournament Central page, here.