NORFOLK, Va. – Charlotte women’s soccer netted all three of its goals, from three different juniors, in the final 45 minutes and sophomore Abby Stapleton remained dominate in net to preserve the shutout, as the 49ers tallied a 3-0 victory at Old Dominion Monday night in Norfolk, Virginia. The match started two hours late due to rain in the area.

After the teams battled through a scoreless opening half, and with the host Lady Monarchs holding a 6-to-2 shot advantage, the Niners found their breakthrough after intermission and the offense clicked on all cylinders with the defense withholding any threat on the opposite end.

In the 68th minute, Julia Grainda ended the scoring drought with her second goal in as many games as she was the recipient of a pass from classmate Sophie Sipprell and slotted her shot short side, tucking it just inside the right post, behind goalie Jasmine Crawley for the 1-0 lead at 67:37. It would stand as the game-winning goal for the captain.

The Charlotte (6-3, 2-0 C-USA) attack continued to be relentless in the final third and the 49ers struck again less than five minutes later, at 71:54. Freshman Haley Shand held possession, escaped her defender before crossing the ball into the penalty area. Awaiting the pass was junior Megan Greene, who one-timed it into the back of the net to double the Niners’ advantage. Greene remained on her scoring tear as of late, as the goal is her fourth in the last two games, after netting her first career hat trick in Thursday’s league opener against FIU. Her four goals and eight points in conference play are tops among all individuals through Monday’s action.

The final Charlotte tally came late in regulation after freshman Annie Sorando, in her return to her home state, dribbled through the Old Dominion (3-5-2, 0-2 C-USA) midfield before locating Sipprell, who slipped her shot behind Crawley at 85:55 for her second goal of the campaign.

Meanwhile, defensively, Stapleton finished with five saves, four in the second half, to register her fifth clean sheet of the season and the 12th of her young career. A few of the stops involving her leaping or diving to keep the ball out of the net as she was aided by a strong defensive effort from several players, including junior Riley Orr, sophomore Meredith Hamby and freshman Brynn Douglas.

The 49ers will look to continue their current stretch, in which they have won four out of their last five, by returning home to Transamerica Field for their next two games. The mini-homestand opens at 7 p.m. Friday against WKU before Marshall comes to town for a 1 p.m. Sunday start.

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