CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Another all-around, solid team performance carried the Charlotte women’s soccer team to a 3-0 home triumph over Louisiana Tech Friday night. The contest started a three-game homestand and the opening of Parents Weekend for the 49ers at Transamerica Field.

Charlotte (6-5-1, 3-2 C-USA) pushed forward on the attack much of the night, finishing with a 20-to-11 shot advantage, including 13 in the first 45 minutes to set a season best for the opening half. The 49ers held the Lady Techsters, who entered the match ranked No. 3 nationally in scoring offense, to minimal attempts with only three of their 11 attempts on goal.

The Niners did not waste much time in finding the back of the net to claim an early 1-0 lead. Junior Maddie Kiebel’s corner kick in the third minute deflected off a Louisiana Tech (9-5-1, 1-4 C-USA) defender standing on the goal line before redirecting into the cage for an own goal at 2:09. It marked the squad’s fastest score of the campaign.

The Lady Techsters nearly found the equalizer at 15:35 when Donya Salomon-Ali headed an attempt at the Charlotte frame. Senior Sara Trexler was inside the six-yard box and in perfect position to redirect the shot away from the goal mouth, preserving the shutout. Only 13 seconds later, Salomon-Ali had another header, but this time it was sent wide.

In the 19th minute, another Kiebel corner kick was sent into the box, but LA Tech’s starting goalkeeper Kylee Seto was able to collect the ball. The pressure was maintained by the 49ers the remainder of the period but neither team could find the back of the net.

As the second half opened, so did Charlotte’s looks at the Louisiana Tech goal. Freshman Martha Thomas slotted a pass to Trexler, who ran along the defensive back line before firing back across the goal mouth low underneath backup keeper Anna Lensing, who entered at the intermission, to push the edge to 2-0 at the 46:13 mark.

It would be over 13 minutes later before either team had another shot, as Kiebel’s 35-yard blast was saved by Lensing. Then, at 57:31, redshirt sophomore Nicole Anderson located Thomas at the top left corner of the 18-yard box. Thomas, with her back facing the Lady Techsters net, spun and fired a high shot above the outstretched arms of Lensing to put a cap on the scoring. It marked the rookie’s team-leading eighth goal and pushed her season point total to 20.

Thomas finished with a game-high six shots, including four on goal, while senior Amanda Jones added five attempts. Jones has now raised her career shots total to 178, placing her in fourth place on the school’s all-time list.

Redshirt junior Annika McHenry played the full 90 minutes for her seventh career shutout, slipping her into seventh place by herself in the school’s record books.

The victory also marked the 66th in the 49ers career for head coach John Cullen, equaling the school standard initially set by the program’s first mentor, Robbie Church (1994-98).

Charlotte will play host to Southern Miss Sunday at 1 p.m. in its next home match. The Golden Eagles fell 1-0 at Old Dominion Friday to drop to 5-7-2 overall and 0-3-2 in C-USA action.

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