Charlotte 49ers women’s soccer found themselves in the win column for the first time this season as they hosted and defeated the Campbell Camels 1-0 on Thursday, Sept. 5.
"I'm really just ecstatic for the players," said Head Coach Brandi Fontaine. "It's been a hard road for them. We've played some really good games in some really big matchups and they haven't shut down when they could've over the last few results. I was happy with how the girls showed up with the mentality to play as one tonight."
Charlotte (1-5-1) was able to carve out an identity as they bested Campbell (1-3-3) with a solid performance, outshooting them 15-6.
The third time’s a charm
Charlotte had a free kick in the 35th minute, which Macey Bader sent on goal. Campbell goalkeeper JLo Varada made the save before the Niners recovered. The ball was passed out to Evie Craven, who took a shot, which was also saved by Varada.
Freshman Allie Metcalf recovered it, sending it into the back of the net for her first collegiate career goal to put Charlotte ahead 1-0.
“It goes with the message that we’ve been working on: just keep fighting, keep pushing, and no matter what the circumstances are, if we’re down, keep fighting for it and grind through each battle until the balls out across the line,” said Metcalf.
Camels amp up intensity
The Camels tried to attack with more intensity in the second half, shooting double the number of shots.
Their first shot on net came in the 80th minute when Caitlyn Boucher hurled a shot from outside the box over a group of 49er defenders, and goalkeeper Emma Wakeman was ready to scoop it up for her first save of the night.
Despite Campbell's efforts to up the antics to try and score an equalizer, they were outshot in the half 7-4, and Charlotte claimed their first victory of the season, sealing a 1-0 win.
Standouts
Metcalf put her stamp on the game in her 25 minutes on the pitch, proving the depth this team prides itself on can make a strong impact. The freshman made the most of her opportunity, finishing at the net to give the 49ers their first lead of the year.
Wakeman stood out despite only facing one shot on goal; she came through when her name was called, and she could also be heard guiding her teammates in a similar sense to a defensive coordinator in football, making sure everyone knew where to go.
Takeaways
Finding their identity, Charlotte pushed the pace and stayed aggressive in the game. On the pitch, they all seemed to be on the same page with a clearer goal in mind regarding how they wanted to do things than they had shown in the previous matches this season.
“Coach Brandi summed it up really well in the tent,” said Wakeman. “We just all looked a little bit more on the same page. We had a lot of conversations about our game plan going into this game and how we could figure it out. I think everyone was really bought in today to our goal and our mission.”
Overcoming a key injury. Payton Patrick, the team’s only returning regular season all-conference player from last season, is sidelined for a couple of weeks, costing the team a major offensive threat. Despite missing the experienced athletic forward, the team overcame that and secured their first win of the season.
ACC opponent on tap
Charlotte stays home to host the Clemson Tigers for their final non-conference match of the season, which will be played at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 8.
“Honestly, I want to take from today and build off of it,” said Fontaine. “We know we can create that mentality now. Now, we gotta do it against a big-time program. Can we put them under pressure? Maybe put them on their heels and turn something good out of it. If we can pull all the pieces of what we’ve been working on with these teams that we’ve challenged ourselves and pull together against a top program like Clemson, I’ll be really ecstatic for the players to head into conference after that.”
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