Sheppard Scores Twice as Niners Top TCU, 3-0, In Men's Soccer
Lucas Mackanos had six saves to record his first shutout in the Niners 3-0 win at TCU. |
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Oct. 7, 2001
FORT WORTH, Texas- The Charlotte 49ers men's soccer team rallied behind the play of two freshmen on Sunday, October 7, to defeat the Horned Frogs of TCU, 3-0. Much of the play in the first 25 minutes of the match was controlled by TCU, however, the 49er defense held its ground in not allowing any solid scoring chances for the Horned Frogs.
Freshman midfielder George Sheppard (Stone Mountain, Ga./Parkview) broke through the defense on the left side by dribbling past a couple TCU defenders and placed a shot in the back of the net, past TCU keeper Michael Lahoud, to give the 49ers a 1-0 lead at 39:15. Sheppard's goal was his first of his career. Then, with just under two minutes remaining in the half, another freshman, Mira Mupier (Houston, Texas/Langham Creek), used his speed to break free from the TCU defense and launch a shot across the goal mouth for the 49ers' second goal of the match at 43:01. Assisting on Mupier's goal, his team-tying fourth of the season and fourth in as many games, were Rob Evitts (Kernersville, N.C./East Forsyth) and junior transfer Jeff McFarland (Auburn, Ala./Catawba College). By recording the assist, McFarland picked up his first point in a Charlotte uniform.
With a 2-0 lead at the half, Charlotte stiffened up its defensive play to prevent the Horned Frogs from scoring in the second half. Adding his second goal of the match, off an assist from senior captain David Pedreschi (Dublin, Ireland/Ohio Wesleyan), was Shepard at 85:48. In goal, sophomore Lucas Mackanos (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) recorded six saves in the first shutout of the season for Charlotte.
"I'm very pleased that we were able to pick up the win and shutout away from home and against a conference foe," commented head coach John Tart. "We were fortunate not to have gone down in the first 25 minutes of the match. After we scored the first goal, we were able to settle down and control the ball better. I'm proud of our freshmen (Sheppard and Mupier) for stepping up and providing the goals we needed today. In goal, Lucas came up with big saves that kept us in the match."
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With the victory, Charlotte improves to 4-4-2, 2-2-1 in Conference USA. TCU drops to 2-6-1, 1-2-0 in conference action. The 49ers will return to action this Wednesday, October 10, to take on regional opponent Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C. Charlotte will next play at home on October 17 versus the Tar Heels of North Carolina at Transamerica Field at 7:00 p.m.
