Partly cloudy. Low 67F. Winds light and variable..

Partly cloudy. Low 67F. Winds light and variable.

Charlotte's Johathan Nyandjo runs after ball in game against South Carolina.

Charlotte's Johathan Nyandjo runs after ball in game against South Carolina.

The Charlotte men's soccer team defeated UCONN in their season opener on Thursday, Aug. 25, 3-1. The 49ers hit the road to Storrs, CT, and bested the Huskies off two second-half goals. The team won their first opener since the 2019 season.

Head Coach Kevin Langan shared his thoughts on the dominant victory.

"Today was a great start," said Langan. "We scored three wonderful goals, and pleasingly, we stood strong and defended very well as a team when we needed to. We are only just getting started with this group of players."

The 49ers quickly got out of the gate, scoring at the 3:20 mark in the first half. Graduate student Alex Willis connected with Kameron Lacey on a through pass. Lacey placed the ball to the keeper's right, putting it in the back of the net, making it 1-0.

For the next 28 minutes, the contest became a defensive battle. Both teams combined for eight shots on goal but couldn't convert. The Huskies ended the drought with a goal in the 31st minute from sophomore Scott Testori, tying it 1-1.

The rest of the half was silent, and the game remained tied heading into the halftime break. The 49ers recorded ten shots in the half, while the Huskies had four. 

Charlotte wasted no time regaining the lead out of the break as they scored twice in the first nine minutes. 

First, a deflected pass found its way to Koby Carr, who got the ball into Filip Jauk. Jauk shot, and a great save sent the ball back out. Willis then tapped it in for the go-ahead goal at the 51:13 mark. 

The second goal came at the 54:49 mark when third-year student, Johnathan Nyandjo, scored. Nyandjo made an impressive cut inside the box, putting one past UCONN goalie Jayden Hibbert. The goal doubled the 49er lead making it 3-1.  

In the next 35 minutes, the Huskies tried to get back into the contest, recording six shots but couldn't convert. The 49ers played masterfully on the defensive side, closing things out with a commanding 3-1 victory. 

The contest was chippy as both teams combined for six yellow cards. The cards were split in half, with both teams receiving three. Charlotte will need to clean this up in future matchups. 

This 49ers team has a plethora of goal scorers and will be a hard team to beat offensively. All three goals in the game came from different players while the squad outshot the Huskies 16-12. Charlotte has many young talents and veteran leadership to help catapult this team into the national spotlight.

Willis had an outstanding performance in the contest. He was the lone 49er to record both a goal and an assist. Willis scored the go-ahead goal at the start of the second half to swing the momentum. 

Lacey found himself open throughout the contest, recording three shots with two on goal. He converted at the three-minute mark to set the tempo for Charlotte. 

Charlotte will be back in action on Monday, Aug. 29, for its home opener against the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. inside Transamerica field.

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