CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The College of Charleston women's soccer team fell, 6-0, to Charlotte in the Cougars' final non-conference bout of the season at Transamerica Field on Friday night.
After an extremely challenging out-of-conference slate, CofC (2-7) gets a fresh start with the opening of its inaugural Colonial Athletic Association season when the Cougars make their in-conference debut on Friday, Sept. 27 with a home match against Northeastern at Patriots Point.
“This was a harsh result for what was a pretty good game,” said head coach Christian Michner. “It was a mostly-even match in the middle of the field, but the difference was that inside the 18 they took advantage and buried their chances. We were unlucky on a couple of occasions, but when you give up six goals you're not going to win a game.”
The 49ers bookended the first half with goals five minutes into the match and under-ten minutes before the conclusion of the first period. They struck in the fifth minute when SarahAnn Waugh sent in a cross from the right side and Jessica Ryan executed a turn-and-shoot maneuver to tuck the ball into the left corner of the net.
Towards the end of the period, Kaitlin Walker took a shot from 25 yards out which first-half Cougar keeper Eli Sarasola (San Sebastian, Spain) saved most of, but the ball squirted across the line for Walker's first goal of the season in the 36th minute.
Early in the second half, Ryan notched her second goal of the night when Amanda Jones gained control of the ball around the top of the 18-yard box and found Ryan who slotted a low shot from 10 yards out.
The remaining second half saw three 49ers net their first goals of the season to stretch the result.
Brooke Mulloy found space for a long run and netted her first goal in the 65th minute to the lower-left corner for a 4-0 Charlotte lead.
In the 80th minute, Sara Trexler crossed in a ball from the right side and Alex Meyers slid in a low shot.
Moments before the end of regulation, Caitlin Donovan played a long ball down the right side of the pitch and Perri Bonner put a shot into the top of the net to make the score 6-0, the eventual final.
The Cougars ended the night on the wrong side of a 20-8 shot margin, but the 49ers' shot efficiency demands respect with over half being on target and 30 percent finding the back of the net.
“We played a challenging schedule,” said Michner. By design, it wasn't easy… to prepare us for what we'll see when we step into the Colonial. The best thing is that we can wipe it away for a clean slate. Everyone starts conference play at 0-0. Our players will come out with new life and take the next step to come out ready for success in the CAA.”
