DENTON, Texas – The Charlotte 49ers women’s soccer team concluded its longest road trip of the season Sunday afternoon by remaining close in the Conference USA East Division standings despite a 3-0 setback at North Texas in Denton, Texas. The road swing began two time zones away from their home base as the Niners earned a 2-2 tie at UTEP Friday night.

In Sunday’s action, Charlotte (7-5-2, 2-2-2 C-USA) could not overcome wet field conditions against the host Mean Green in the first meeting between the two squads.

North Texas netted its first score of the game at 40:02 when Lynda Hercules sent a pass to Brooke Oxentine, who then drilled a low 25-yarder towards the net. The shot deflected off a 49ers defender before going behind starting goalkeeper, senior Alex Kubrick, who was making her first appearance in the Charlotte cage in over two weeks.

The 49ers looked to turn on their second-half magic once again, but the Mean Green had other ideas. Rachel Holden, a two-time Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week, pushed the North Texas (9-5-1, 3-2-1 C-USA) cushion to two at 61:23 when she headed home a strike from six-yards out. Amber Haggerty’s flick led to a cross by Allison Guderian before Holden placed her head on the attempt.

Charlotte then made a goalkeeper change with 13 minutes left in regulation, inserting redshirt freshman Alex Weaver into her second collegiate action of her career. A short time after she entered the contest, a Niners foul resulted in a penalty kick situation and Kelsey Hodges buried the attempt to decide the final outcome at 79:47.

The 49ers managed seven shots on the day, as redshirt freshman Nicole Anderson and junior Amanda Jones paced the squad with two apiece.

Holden and Hodges guided the Mean Green with three shots each, as they fired 20 towards the Charlotte net.

The race for the East Division crown heated up Sunday as FIU slipped into first place by a point ahead of the 49ers following its 3-2 overtime victory at UAB. Charlotte owns a one-point advantage over the Blazers and Middle Tennessee after Sunday’s action concluded.

The Niners will play host to UAB at 7 p.m. Friday in a critical East Division contest to open a three-match homestand at Transamerica Field. Charlotte has three home games in its last four matches to wrap up the regular season.

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