Date Posted: 11/15/2008

BUIES CREEK, N.C. - In the highest-scoring final decided in regulation since the conference’s first title game in 1979, the Jacksonville Dolphins exacted revenge from the previous year, defeating Campbell, 4-3 on a soggy Saturday afternoon to win the Atlantic Sun Conference’s Men’s Soccer Championship.

For the third time in the five games played during the A-Sun Championship, a goal was scored after the 85th minute and while Belmont and Jacksonville scored tying goals against Stetson and Lipscomb, respectively, Tournament MVP Ramak Niakan Safi scored the championship-winning goal, his sixth such goal of the season with 1:32 remaining in the match, sending the Dolphins back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998

“We were down 3-1 in the first half, so when we went to the locker room we were all nervous,” Niakan Safi said. “We decided to play the second half hard so that we had no regrets when we left the field. When I scored, I can’t describe it. It was a great moment.”

Jacksonville (11-8-1) put Campbell (14-6-0) in an unfamiliar position, behind, when Niakan Safi scored the first of his two goals in the game by converting a well-placed through ball from Sebastian Lindholm for a 1-0 lead. Campbell had not trailed since down 3-2 to Lipscomb on Oct. 18, spanning over 650 minutes of play.

Campbell stormed back with three consecutive goals and Player of the Year Richard Jata had his hand in all three. He drew a penalty inside the box resulting in Josue Soto converting on his second penalty kick of the Championship to tie the match. Jata, who lost for the first time in the games during his Campbell career when scoring in a contest (20-1-1), gave the Camels a 2-1 lead with a successful header off a free kick from Soto. Jata collected his second goal of the match, his fourth of the A-Sun Championship and his 12th of the season, blasting a free kick through the hands of Dolphins’ goalkeeper Joey Sanchez. Despite the 3-1 advantage, the Camels had only taken three shots in the opening 45 minutes as compared to the Dolphins’ seven shots.

The Dolphins comeback started 12 minutes into the second half when Second-Team All-Atlantic Sun forward Tony Taylor cut the margin to 3-2 with his fifth goal of the season from the right side of the box. They climbed back to level the match in the 75th minute when freshman Kristian Lassen tallied his third goal of this A-Sun Championship. Jacksonville had several chances in the final 10 minutes, but Campbell goalkeeper Aaron Johnson, 2008 Defensive Player of the Year, made several dramatic saves keeping the match deadlocked until Niakan Safi’s clinching goal.

“I told the kids we were playing well and to keep creating chances,” Johnson said. “Once we got our second goal, the kids all knew we could win. When we equalized it, Stefan Runeman came to the sideline and said ‘coach we are going for number four’ and I said let’s do it.”

The seven goals scored represented the highest scoring title game in the Atlantic Sun since Centenary defeated Georgia State by the 4-3 margin, in overtime. The only A-Sun final decided in regulation to feature more goals came back in 1979 when Hardin-Simmons blanked Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana-Monroe), 9-0. After outshooting the Camels, 7-3, in the first half, Jacksonville dominated the shots category over the final 45 minutes, to the tune of a 10-0 advantage, totaling to a 17-3 margin for the entire contest.

In addition to Niakan Safi, Jacksonville’s Taylor, Lassen, Philipp Meyner, Eddie Munnelly and Jonathon Jackson earned spots on the All-Tournament team. Jata, Soto and Stephen Oyuga represented the Camels. Belmont’s Dan Meacock and Lipscomb’s Miguel DaSilva round out the 11-man squad.

Jacksonville earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Dolphins will learn how their road to the College Cup in Frisco, Texas will start during Monday’s selection show, to be carried live on ESPNews between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. Campbell must wait to see if it is selected for an at-large berth. They entered the A-Sun Championship with an RPI inside the top 40. The A-Sun has placed multiple teams in the tournament three times in the last 15 years. In 1994, College of Charleston and FIU made the field the Cougars advanced all the way to the quarterfinals. Two years later, the Cougars and the Golden Panthers made the tournament with FIU making its historic run the College Cup Championship match. The following year Georgia State and FIU earned spots, but both lost its respective first game.

The win broke several long streaks Campbell brought with itself into the final. The victory was Jacksonville’s first over Campbell in the last eight meetings between the teams (0-6-1 in seven meetings dating back to October 2002).Campbell also lost to an Atlantic Sun opponent for the first time since a 3-2 setback at Lipscomb on Oct. 13, 2007, ending a 16-game unbeaten string (14-0-2) and lost at home for the first time since dropping a 2-1 decision to UNC Greensboro on Nov. 7, 2007.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Related Links:
 •  Jacksonville-Campbell Game Notes
 • ASun.TV
 • Live Stats