Charlotte women defeat Duquesne

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Charlotte 49ers women’s soccer team came away with a hectic 5-3 victory over the Duquesne Dukes in the opening match of Atlantic 10 Conference play in a game that saw six second-half goals with three from each side. The Niners moved to 7-2 on the season and 1-0 in A-10 play as they won their seventeenth-straight match against A-10 opponents, which dates back to 2007. The Dukes dropped to 3-5 on the year with the conference opening loss.

Leading the Niners was Hailey Beam who produced two goals and an assist on the day. Three other 49ers netted goals in the game as Whitney Weinraub, Carrie Dail and Jenna McKeon all scored in the victory.

“We have several people on this team that can score goals and I think this game really shows that,” added head coach John Cullen. “I’ve told the team several times that there are about seven people that we can depend on to get us goals in matches and tonight amplified that fact.”

Beam opened up the scoring off the match in the 28th minute on a penalty kick, which was awarded to Charlotte after Dail was tackled from behind in the box to give the 49ers the attempt. The goal was Beam’s fourth of the season.

“I give all the credit to Carrie (Dail) on the penalty kick,” added a humble Beam. “She was the one who made the long run into the box and she was the one who was tackled. I just went up there and knocked in the kick.”

Duquesne had a chance to add a goal and tie the game in the 35th minute as they were awarded a penalty kick. However, senior goalkeeper Lauren Brown came up with a huge diving save stopping Morgan Herbert’s attempted shot in the left corner.

Dail managed a goal of her own to give Charlotte a 2-0 lead in the first half by receiving a long-through pass from Jonna Handra down the right side and chipping the ball over Duquesne’s goal keeper Gabby Morin, which gave the freshman her third goal of the season.

The 49ers took the 2-0 lead into the half on a wet night at Transamerica Field, which saw rain from the beginning of the game to the end. Charlotte led in shots at halftime 9-7 over the visiting Dukes.

The second half was filled with goals as both sides added three goals. The half also had a stretch in which four goals were scored in a 12-minute span.

Duquesne was successful in adding a goal in the 58th minute as Shaina Geisler’s shot from the right side outside of the box sailed into the left corner past a diving Brown to cut Charlotte’s lead to 2-1.

Charlotte responded quickly by adding a goal for minutes later from Weinraub’s brilliant goal in which she dribbled past two Dukes’ defenders within the six-yard box and chipped the ball over Morrin to extend Charlotte’s lead back to two goals.

The Dukes did not give up as they too added a goal four minutes later off a long shot from Samantha Kaiser along the left side. Kaiser goal trickled into the right post as they ball slid past a diving Brown on the wet pitch.

Beam added her second goal of the night as she headed in a Sam Huecker corner kick that was taken from the right side. Huecker’s corner curled to the far post where Beam barely had to move to notch her fifth goal of the season.

“My second goal couldn’t have been set up any better because Sam’s (Huecker) corner was perfect,” added Beam. “She practically put the ball on a silver platter for me and all I had to do was tap the ball in.”

Mckeon added another Niner goal in the 76th minute to stretch Charlotte’s lead to 5-2. She deflected an Ashley Roberto cross onto frame that snuck past Morrin for her third goal of the season.

Duquesne added a late goal in the game in the 87th minute from Kristin Vinicky, but the game was out of reach for the Dukes.

Despite the high-offensive production, Charlotte was not pleased by their effort on the defensive end, which has given up three goals in three games this season.

“Attacking wise I think we played very well and we could have easily had several more goals tonight,” stated Beam. “However, as a team we have to improve defensively and that doesn’t only fall on our defenders we have to improve as a unit because we aren’t always going to score five goals in a game.”

The Niners will look to continue their high-offensive numbers while limiting their defensive miscues as they travel to Bronx, N.Y. for their first road A-10 match of the season when they take on Fordham at 1 p.m. on Sunday.