BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Campbell faces one of its biggest challenges this season when the Fighting Camels travel to Chapel Hill Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. kick-off against second-ranked North Carolina.

The Camels (4-6-1) are unbeaten in their last four matches (3-0-1) to climb atop the Atlantic Sun Conference standings.  UNC (8-1-2) has lost only once this year (1-0 at defending national champion Maryland) and is coming off a 2-2 draw Friday a sixth-ranked Wake Forest.

"UNC is an excellent team and have continued right where they left off at the end of last season," said Campbell head coach Doug Hess.  "I expect it to be a huge challenge for our young team."

Campbell has defeated the Tar Heels in each of the last three seasons.  North Carolina was ranked third in the country in 2006 when the Camels won 1-0 in Buies Creek on an own goal.  In 2007, CU defeated unranked UNC 2-1 at Chapel Hill.  Last year, the Camels knocked off the seventh-ranked Heels 2-0 in Buies Creek on goals from '08 A-Sun player of the year Richard Jata and Vince Petrasso.

Campbell's 2-1 victory on Halloween night 2007 was the first-ever for the Camels in Chapel Hill.  UNC won the first nine meetings between the schools at home, dating to the 1963 season, Campbell's first year of varsity men's soccer.

Victories over UNC in 2006 and 2007 marked the first time in the 21-match series that Campbell won back-to-back games against the Tar Heels; then CU made it three in a row in '08.  CU defeated North Carolina previously during the 1964, 1981 and 1988 seasons.  UNC still holds a 15-6-1 edge in the all-time series.

Since the start of the 2005 campaign, Campbell has played 10 nationally-ranked foes and has won four of those contests.  Campbell dropped a 5-1 decision last month at then 22nd-ranked North Carolina State.

Coming off his first career hat trick, Campbell's Khalil Johnson was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com national team of the week on Monday.  The junior forward from Kingston, Jamaica scored twice in the 41st minute, then again in the 61st of Campbell's 4-1 A-Sun victory Thursday over USC Upstate.  He moved up to third among CU's scoring leaders with eight points on four goals.

"This recognition is great for Khalil," said Hess.  "He's been carrying a nagging hamstring injury.  Now it seems that he's turning a corner and I think this will be a boost to his confidence."

Campbell's unbeaten string has coincided with the team's best offensive performances of the season.  CU scored only seven goals through its first seven matches and stood 1-6-0 heading into its A-Sun opener Oct. 1 at Lipscomb.  The Camels twice rallied from one-goal deficits and freshman Ben Iiames' first career goal in the 87th minute pulled CU level in a contest that ended as a 2-2 draw.

Two days later, the Camels defeated Belmont 3-1, then posted consecutive four-goal outputs in victories last week.  Johnson's hat trick (CU's first since Willy Guadarrama scored five against Stetson on Oct. 6, 2005) highlighted the 4-1 win over USC Upstate.

Vince Petrasso provided three assists against Upstate; then added two goals in a 4-3 victory Saturday over East Tennessee State to catapult the Camels into first place in the A-Sun standings. Petrasso moved into first place in the conference with seven assists on the year, and his two strikes against ETSU marked his first multi-goal performance of the season (and his first two-goal game since Oct. 9, 2008 vs. UNF).

During its four-match unbeaten stretch, Campbell has scored 13 goals, six of those tallied by freshmen.

This season's Camel squad is younger than the previous three that not only defeated UNC, but reached the A-Sun final in 2007 and 2008.  Gone from last year's team are four All-South performers, including senior midfielder Jata, center back Stephen Oyuga and record-setting keeper Aaron Johnson.

Freshmen are playing key roles throughout the Camel lineup.  Iiames and Jackson Ferrell have combined to make 11 starts on the back line.  Freshman Ryan Amons (five starts) and senior Ted Awana (six) each have made their first Division I appearances this year in goal.

Three of Campbell's top five scorers - Mitchell Cardenas (3 goals, 3 assists, 9 points), Keegan Terry (2-3-7) and Justin Smith (2-2-6) - are freshmen.