CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charlotte women’s soccer dominated penalty kicks, winning 4-1, after a 1-1 draw against WKU to advance past the Lady Toppers in the Conference USA Quarterfinals Wednesday night at Transamerica Field. The 49ers improved to 4-1 all-time in PK shootouts during C-USA Championships action.

Charlotte (9-8-2) sent freshman Sara Sandberg to the penalty spot for the first attempt and she gave the Niners an early edge with a conversion behind WKU keeper Allison Leone. The 49ers then sent in backup goalkeeper Abby Coffey, who hadn’t seen the field since August 28 at Georgia Southern due to a variety of reasons. The change helped force Iris Dunn to send the first Lady Toppers attempt sky high over the crossbar.

Next up was Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year Martha Thomas, who had tallied the 49ers’ only goal during regulation. Thomas again connected, pushing the 49ers advantage to 2-0. Olivia Fitzgerald then gave WKU (12-6-1) its only score during the shootout, closing the gap to within one entering the third round.

Senior Shelby Hicks toed the spot and her marker increased the lead to 3-1, putting more pressure on WKU, the tournament’s No. 3 seed. Andrea Larsen’s next attempt ricocheted off the left post, maintaining the two-goal edge entering the potential clincher in the fourth round.

Senior Katie O’Neill, an All-Conference USA Second Team choice, drove home the winning shot for a 4-1 final in the penalty kicks and carrying the Niners into Friday’s semifinals.

No. 6-seed Charlotte opened the contest by dominating the first 45 minutes, taking an 11-4 shot advantage into the half and also posting the game’s only score up to that point. Thomas made school history when she received a ball forward from Conference USA Freshman of the Year Megan Greene and then chipped it over a charging Leone at the 22:23 mark.

Thomas’ score was her 10th of the campaign, making her the first player in program history with three double-digit scoring campaigns. It also marked the 34th of her career, inching her to within five of the school’s all-time record.

As much as the 49ers seemed to control the action in the first period, it was WKU’s turn during the second half. The Lady Toppers flipped the field and outshot the hosts 8-2 over the next 45 minutes to bring the score line level and force the extra periods.

After much pressure, WKU was able to break through for the equalizer at 82:39 when a pair of short passes between Iris Dunn and Hannah Chua located Sarah Gorham making a run down the left side. Gorham then slotted a slow, low shot to the far post, trickling just inside the frame, to knot the score at 1-1.

Neither team would find the back of the net again, although Charlotte held a 5-to-1 advantage in shots during the second overtime as it sought the go-ahead score.

“We started off the first half really well and played around them,” Thomas said. “They came out in the second half with a lot of momentum and we got lucky … but we dug deep and finished it off. We dominated both overtime periods and practiced penalties all week – it paid off.”
It was the third-straight Conference USA Championships game for the Niners to reach overtime. Charlotte is into the semifinals for the first time since 2013 and improves its quarterfinal record in the C-USA Championships to 7-2-3 all-time.

The 49ers advance to Friday’s semifinals where they will face No. 7-seed UTEP at 7 p.m. The Miners pulled off the day’s first upset, handing No. 2-seed Rice a 1-0 setback.

Other winners on the tournament’s first day included top-seed and regular-season champion North Texas and No. 4-seed Florida Atlantic. The Mean Green and Owls will meet in the first semifinal, slated for 4:30 p.m., at Transamerica Field Friday.

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