ATLANTA – An aggressive start and two goals from freshman Julia Grainda sparked the Charlotte women’s soccer team to a 4-1 victory Friday night over Georgia State at the GSU Soccer Complex in Atlanta. The start-to-finish win marked the first on the road for the 49ers this fall, who are in the midst of a three-match road swing early in the campaign.

Grainda, who netted 31 scores and was tabbed 1A state championship game MVP honors as a senior at Community School of Davidson in 2016, has continued her success in placing the ball between the pipes during the early stages of her collegiate career.

She became the second Charlotte (2-1) freshman this fall, joining Megan Greene, to register two goals in a game despite the Niners only playing three contests thus far.

Her first tally Friday night against the Panthers came at the 41:41 mark, stretching the margin to 3-1 just before the halftime horn on an assist by junior Martha Thomas, the Preseason Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year. Just under 20 minutes later, at 61:32, she knocked home her second on a deflection to widen the Georgia State (1-1-1) deficit to 4-1 following an assist by classmate Sara Sandberg, who was making her collegiate debut Friday night.

Charlotte had started the game on fire, posting three shots, all by Greene, in just over the opening nine minutes of action. Sophomore Emily Truelove finally broke through for the Niners, staking them to a 1-0 advantage at the 9:53 mark with her second goal of the campaign with Greene credited on the assist.

The 49ers continued to push forward and Thomas located senior Perri Bonner for the next Charlotte score at 18:05 in her return trip to her hometown.

Freshman Riley Orr and Bonner added shots later in the frame before the Panthers struck at 40:26 on a Taina Anglade goal on a Kylie Ruffule assist. Grainda put the gap back at two with her late first-half strike as the 49ers built a 9-2 edge on shots through the opening frame.

Charlotte continued to show aggressiveness on the offensive end as the second period kicked off. Sandberg opened the second stanza with a shot in the 49th minute to keep the spark going.

Grainda then started a sequence that featured four Niners shots and two corner kicks in a five-and-a-half minute span, leading to her second goal. The teams traded opportunities throughout the middle stages of the half, as Charlotte looked to headers by Thomas and Greene to increase its lead but both shots were unable to be capitalized upon.

As the 49ers were looking to expand their cushion, the defense started to stand tall as well. Georgia State shot attempts were stonewalled and redshirt sophomore Anna Shelden, making just her third career start in between the pipes, continued to thwart any threats by the hosts although she was credited with only one save before true sophomore Abby Coffey entered the match for the final 6:36 and her first action of the season.

Charlotte finished with a 19-6 edge on shots, including a seven-to-two advantage when placing them on goal. The 49ers were led by Greene’s six attempts, while Truelove, Orr and Bonner each finished with two.

The Niners also held a seven-to-zero domination on corner kicks, limiting the Panthers to conjure up any solid offensive threat all evening. Six different Georgia State players took shots.

Charlotte will put a cap on its early-season three-match road swing at 1 p.m. Sunday when it travels to Statesboro, Georgia, to face Georgia Southern. The 49ers return to their home turf next Friday, Sept. 2, to play host to Mercer at 8 p.m. in the second game of a Charlotte soccer doubleheader at Transamerica Field with the men’s program.

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