Offensive outburst lifts 49ers over Cougars
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charlotte scored its most goals in nearly a year, keeping offensive pressure on the opposite end all night, as the 49ers clinched a 6-0 victory over College of Charleston in women’s soccer action Friday at Transamerica Field.
Leading the Charlotte (5-2) charge was junior Jessica Ryan with two goals, giving her four in the last three games. She had not scored in her career until the recent hot stretch. Also adding inaugural collegiate goals Friday night were freshmen Kaitlin Walker and Perri Bonner.
Ryan got the scoring started at 4:35 when she received a cross from senior SarahAnn Waugh. Ryan, with her back towards the Cougars net when she initially took control of the pass, quickly turned and fired her attempt to the lower left corner past goalkeeper Eli Sarasola.
Despite the constant pressure on the College of Charleston (2-7) net, it wasn’t until 35:14 when Walker padded the Niners lead at 2-0 when she put in an unassisted goal from 25 yards out, when her shot was dropped by Sarasola just over the goal line.
Charlotte held a 6-3 shot edge and a 4-0 corner kick advantage at the intermission.
Ryan was the spark early in the second half, putting her low shot from 10 yards away between the pipes at 56:07 to increase the margin to three. Junior Amanda Jones and redshirt junior Jennifer Lee helped the team gain control inside the 18-yard box before feeding the ball to Ryan for her second tally.
Just under nine minutes later, at 64:42, senior Brooke Mulloy had a long run along the right side. She then faked out a charging Taylor Avery, who relieved Sarasola at halftime, before a sending a slow roller into the net.
The 49ers lead was built to 5-0 at 79:50 when junior Sara Trexler sent a right-side cross across the goal mouth to sophomore Alex Meyers, who was running from the far side and one-touched the pass under a sliding Avery.
Charlotte capped the half-dozen onslaught with sophomore Caitlin Donovan sending a long pass ahead to Bonner. Bonner used her speed to run onto the free ball and then lifted her shot high over Avery’s outstretched arms to the far post at 88:04.
The goal flurry allowed the Niners to play all healthy bodies, giving their bench plenty of game action. Included amongst the substitutions was redshirt sophomore Annika McHenry, who came on in goal for starter Alex Kubrick for the first time this season.
Charlotte finished with a 20-to-8 shot advantage, led by Ryan’s three attempts. Jones, Bonner and sophomores Maddie Kiebel and Tori Fubara each contributed two apiece.
Kubrick collected two saves before McHenry stepped in for the final 11:06 to preserve the team shutout.
Michaela Herrmann and Nicole Koretsky paced the Cougars with two shots each.
The 49ers return to action when they travel to cross-county rival Davidson at 6 p.m. Sunday to close the non-conference campaign. Live stats and video will be available through links on Charlotte49ers.com, while updates will also be available on Twitter by following @49erGameDay.
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