CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charlotte netted two goals in the first 12 minutes of the second half, including one within the first 60 seconds following intermission, but it was not enough as James Madison tacked on a late score to provide the winning margin for a 3-2 win over the 49ers Friday night at Transamerica Field.

Charlotte (4-2) surrendered two goals in the opening period but never let the deficit keep it down. The 49ers came out of the break quickly with SarahAnn Waugh feeding Jessica Ryan at 45:48 to pull the Niners within one. Waugh sent a pass across to Ryan, who was standing at the top of the six-yard box. She then fired her shot back across the goal mouth to the lower left corner past Dukes goalkeeper Ellen Forrest to spoil any shutout bid.

With the momentum of the goal, the 49ers remained on the offensive. Charlotte, who ended up with a 7-3 corner kick advantage on the evening, held a 5-to-1 edge in the category during the second period.

The Niners took control of a James Madison (4-3) miscue to knot the score at 2-2. A Dukes defender kicked the ball back to Forrest, but the netminder mistakenly picked up the pass with her gloves, drawing an indirect kick.

Standing just eight yards away from the goal frame, Maddie Kiebel jumped across the ball and toe-touched it, allowing Amanda Jones to fire away to the far side of the goal. Jones’ shot ricocheted off a JMU defender into the net for the equalizer at 56:08.

Unfortunately for Charlotte, Ashley Herndon tallied the game winner a short time later for the deciding outcome. She battled through a pair of Niners defenders, slipping a shot from 10 yards out past 49ers goalkeeper Alex Kubrick at 59:47.

James Madison had built a 2-0 halftime cushion during the first 45 minutes. Herndon sent a cross from the right side to the top of the six-yard box, where Lauren Wilson was waiting. Wilson turned and placed a shot past Kubrick at 17:26 for the game’s first score.

The Dukes then built the two-goal difference at 35:29 as Sydney Braun-Mcleod put a shot towards the 49ers cage, only to be saved by Kubrick. The ball trickled over Kubrick’s hands and a Charlotte defender cleared it off the goal line. The clear, however, was stopped by James Madison’s Becky Sparks, who quickly fired a shot back into the open net on the put back.

The Niners finished with an 11-10 shot edge, led by Jones’ four attempts, all on goal. Kiebel added a trio of attempts, including a sliding shot just high over the crossbar following a Jones corner kick late in regulation.

Wilson, Herndon and Katie Hyland each posted two shots to pace James Madison.

Charlotte will be off for a week before resuming action at 7 p.m. Friday against College of Charleston, also at Transamerica Field.

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