CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A critical portion of the schedule is up next for the Charlotte 49ers women's soccer team, as it opens a five-match road swing with a 3 p.m. Saturday start in Washington, D.C., against George Washington.

"This is an important part of the year," head coach John Cullen said. "You want to build upon a good conference start. This five-game road stretch will challenge us in a lot of ways. I think it's important that we go on the road and get positive results and first and foremost, put ourselves in position for the conference tournament at the end of the season. It's an exciting opportunity."

The conference portion of the schedule began last weekend for the 49ers with a pair of victories, against VCU Friday and Richmond Sunday, at Transamerica Field. Charlotte is one of four Atlantic 10 programs to start the league slate at 2-0 and six points.

Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Annika McHenry stepped up between the pipes for the club, as it has allowed just one goal in the last four games to improve to 8-3-1 overall. McHenry's efforts as the netminder earned her Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week accolades, the first of her career.

On the offensive end, senior Carrie Dail and sophomore Amanda Jones have separated themselves as the team's leading scorers with five goals apiece. Although the pair have raced out to the top spot, eight total Charlotte players have contributed at least one score thus far for a balanced attack.

Meanwhile, George Washington is 4-6-1 overall and 0-2 in the A-10 following last weekend's action. Three players guide the Colonials in scoring with two goals each: Krisit Abbate, Alex Neal and Ardriana Moya.

GW has won just once in its last six contests since a three-game win streak to begin September under the direction of first-year head coach Sarah Barnes.

Live stats and video can be found via links on Charlotte49ers.com, while in-game updates will be provided on Twitter @49erGameDay.