CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The offensive breakout Charlotte women’s soccer was seeking came to full fruition Sunday afternoon at Transamerica Field, as the 49ers dominated from start-to-finish in a 5-0 victory over Western Carolina. Meanwhile, the Niners defense continued to clamp down on the defensive end and posted its third shutout of the young season.

FROM THE COACH
“Very pleased to get the win,” head coach John Cullen said. “Every win is important; every win has to be earned. I thought we earned it by the way we played.

“We challenged the team that these Sunday, 1 o’clock games are difficult for a number of reasons. We tested the players mentally to be come out on a Sunday to set the tone, move the ball quickly, score goals and keep clean sheets. Overall, we’re delighted with the performance and we were able to use a lot of players. Some of the usual suspects scored but a lot of great contributions, but collectively as a group, we were solid today.”

GOALS
Charlotte put its first score on the board in the seventh minute, at 6:51, when senior Jamie Fankhauser fed Julia Grainda at 6:51. Grainda’s goal continued her hot streak to the season, thus far, as she continues to wreck havoc on opposing defenses.

Later in the first half, at 19:04, junior Brianna Morris fed a well-placed ball ahead to Grainda, who then sent a cross into the box. It landed at the feet of senior Megan Greene, who redirected it into the cage for her first goal of the campaign.

Greene tacked on another before the intermission with Grainda taking the initial shot, which hit the crossbar. The deflection was corralled by Greene, who one-timed it from short distance for her second goal at 38:06 for a 3-0 halftime edge.

The scoring did not stop in the second half, as Greene finished a flurry of activity inside the 18-yard box with a strike from near the top of the area at 51:39 to pad the 49ers’ lead.

Charlotte capped its scoring on a corner kick late in regulation. Senior Riley Orr swung the set piece into dangerous territory, where Grainda used her height to her advantage and headed home the shot at 87:49.

GREENE LIGHTS THE LAMP TIMES THREE
Greene entered the day without scoring yet this fall but she quickly changed that with her second career hat trick in Sunday’s action. The hat trick is 15th in program history and fifth under head coach John Cullen.

Greene also joins Courtney Cook and Macky Wingo as the only players in school history with multiple hat tricks. Cook tallied both of hers in 1994, while Wingo scored both of hers in 2010.

GRAINDA = GAME WINNER
Grainda’s first goal proved to be the clincher, giving her the game-winning score in all four Charlotte victories this fall. The four game-winning goals set a new single-season career high, tie for eighth in single-season program history and are the most in one year since Martha Thomas’ five in 2017.

Grainda’s eight career game winners pull her even with three others, Jill Currie (1997-2000), Nikki Labuda-Czaplicki (2004-08) and Jonna Handra (2008-11) for sixth place on the program’s all-time list.

STAPLETON RECORDS SHUTOUT
Junior netminder Abby Stapleton continued to anchor the strong 49ers’ defensive corps, posting her third shutout in five games to begin the year. She did not record a save on any of the seven Catamount shots, giving her 15 career clean sheets as she inches her way closer to the school’s all-time best.

RECORDS
Charlotte: 4-1
Western Carolina: 3-2

UP NEXT
The 49ers homestand continues with a 7 p.m. Thursday matchup against Campbell. It will be the first meeting between the two programs since Charlotte’s inaugural campaign of 1994.