The Charlotte men's soccer team opened the regular season with an impressive 3-0 victory over Davidson College as the 49ers scored three second-half goals and held the Wildcats without a shot on target Friday evening (August 23) at Transamerica Field.
After attempting only two shots through the match's first 45 minutes, the Charlotte offense exploded in the second half, putting six of 10 shots in the final frame on goal. The dam broke in the 52nd minute with Ian Pilcher scoring a header from a Grant Stewart corner kick. Perfect passing from Ben Fisher and Brigham Larsen led to a 67th-minute goal by Filip Jauk before Larsen found the back of the net himself in the 81st minute.
"Halftime, we changed tactics, we changed our shape cause Davidson obviously gameplanned to get behind the ball and slow us down and frustrate us and try to counter on us," said Head Coach Kevin Langan, who won his 136th game in his 13th season at the helm of the Niners. "But we decided it was just more of our mindset from our guys. 'What are we waiting for, we waited for this moment, we trained for this moment, let's go, and take the game to our opponent.'"
HOW IT HAPPENED
A better script could not be written for Pilcher's senior season. The Charlotte native and 2024 AAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, scored the first goal of the season for the Niners. In the 52nd minute, he was able to flick a header from the near post past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net to break the 0-0 tie. Stewart initiated the score with his corner kick, earning his first career assist.
First Goal of the Season: By none other than Senior Captain Ian Pilcher
Charlotte's second goal was a thing of pure beauty, the #CharlotteWay that the coaches preach. The Niners put on a true passing clinic for the ball boys and the 858 fans in attendance. A backheel through ball from Fisher found its way to Larsen before Larsen quickly tapped it to Jauk for an easy goal and the 2-0 Charlotte lead.
Larsen, an AAC preseason all-conference pick for 2024, ended the night as the team's leader in points by scoring an 81st-minute goal. Daniel Moore received a pass from Casey McCloskey and sliced a cross past defenders towards the near post and Larsen placed the ball perfectly with his right foot.
Alessandro Negri narrowly missed an opportunity to get Charlotte on the scoreboard in the first half. Playing in his first official game since November 2021, Negri took a pass from Pilcher and sent a rocket towards goal that hit off the crossbar and sailed out of bounds in the 38th minute. It was a beautiful look as the Milan, Italy native returned to Transamerica Field after missing the previous two seasons due to a torn ACL.
MORE FACTS
In addition to the offense perking up in the second half, the defense held the Wildcats to just one shot attempt in the final 45 minutes after allowing three in the first 45.
This was Davidson's first trip to Transamerica Field since 2007. The Niners have now won four straight over the Wildcats.
Transfer Chadi Mayati and freshman Orthodoxos Orthodoxou were making their first starts in the Green & White. Sophomore Stewart earned his first career start after making 10 appearances as a freshman last season. Redshirt freshman Christian Lee also made his first career start, in addition to his first collegiate action.
Freshmen Jaedon Richardson and Daire McCarthy made their first appearances as reserves for Charlotte. Also donning the Green & White jersey for the first time were transfers Ryan Dunn, Chris Dommer, McCloskey, and Fisher.
Andreas Evangelou also made his return to the pitch after suffering a season-ending injury in the opener last year.
UP NEXT
Charlotte will travel up north to duel against #25 Syracuse on Thursday, August 29. The match is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff and it will be broadcast live on ACCNX.
