CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Preseason All-Conference USA Team selection Megan Greene tallied the first hat trick of her career, and the 14th in Charlotte women’s soccer history, to spark a high-octane offensive performance by the 49ers Thursday night in the 5-1 league-opening triumph over FIU at Transamerica Field. With 22 players stepping onto the field at some point during the match, the Niners never relented over the 90 minutes as they mounted an offensive showing not seen in over two years.

Greene’s hat trick, which is the fourth under head coach John Cullen and the first since Katie O’Neill tallied hers on Senior Night against Louisiana Tech Oct. 14, 2016, was buoyed by a pair of first-half scores before she added the game’s final goal on a penalty kick near the midway mark of the second period.

It helped lift Charlotte (5-3, 1-0 C-USA) to the dominating win, as it netted its most goals since a 6-0 win at Gardner-Webb Sept. 1, 2016. It also is the most scores for the 49ers in a league match since a 7-0 victory at Temple during the Atlantic 10 era, Oct. 31, 2010, and the most at Transamerica Field since a 5-1 triumph to lead off the 2016 campaign against Western Carolina, August 19.

It was all done in front of the third-largest crowd in Transamerica Field history, and the second biggest this year, with 1,217 fans witnessing the action. Earlier this season, in a doubleheader with the men’s squad August 24, an announced attendance of 1,450 saw the Niners top Akron in a record-setting crowd.

Greene opened the evening with a strike in the 10th minute at 9:20. Junior Abby Taylor played a ball forward from her back line, down the left flank, to classmate Riley Orr who advanced it deep into Panthers territory. She then sent a left-side cross into the penalty area, where Greene received the pass, spun away from her defender and sent a shot from 13 yards away past netminder Christin Velazquez for the 1-0 advantage.

Less than six minutes later, the 49ers attack continued to put pressure on the FIU (0-10, 0-2 C-USA) cage. This time it was junior Sophie Sipprell who went deep down the left side, near the corner flag, before crossing the ball back in front to classmate Jamie Fankhauser, who corralled the ball and put her attempt low to double the margin at 2-0 at the 15:13 mark. It would prove to be the game winner for Fankhauser, who has been credited with such notation on all three of her scores this fall.

Not to be outdone before the half, Greene padded her total in the 28th minute. Freshman Julia Honeycutt launched a long throw-in into the 18-yard box. The ball skipped through multiple players from both teams but it was Greene who touched it first, using her left foot, opposite from where the throw-in occurred, to redirect it between the pipes for a 3-0 edge at 27:11.

Charlotte continued to add to its cushion in the 56th minute. Freshman Sarah McHale held possession on a long run of her own along the right flank, directly in front of the 49ers bench. She then located junior Julia Grainda, who continued with the ball into the 18-yard box before slipping a hard shot short side, along the right post, behind Velazquez for a 4-0 score at 55:32.

The Panthers then cracked the shutout in the 66th minute. After a quick restart due to a foul, Kaydeen Jack slipped a pass between Niners defenders to Ashley Adams who drained her attempt from 12 yards out to make it 4-1 at 65:52.

Just over a minute later at 66:53, an infraction was called against FIU inside its own penalty box, setting up the penalty kick try for Greene. She wasted little time in burying it home before being mobbed by her teammates to celebrate the historic occasion.

The hat trick lifted Greene’s career scoring total to 25, moving her into sole possession of 10th place on the program’s all-time list.

Charlotte will return to action in a rescheduled game due to Hurricane Florence, traveling to Norfolk, Virginia, for a 4 p.m. start against Old Dominion Monday.

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