Men's Soccer Ties Cincinnati, 2-2, In Double Overtime At C-USA Tournament
Nov. 15, 2001
TAMPA, Fla. - The Charlotte men's soccer team tied Cincinnati 2-2 in double overtime in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament at the University of South Florida.. However, the 49ers advanced to the semifinals on penalty kicks, 11-10.
"I am very pleased that we have a chance to play Saint Louis in the semifinals," Charlotte coach John Tart said. "I first would like to congratulate Cincinnati on tying the match twice in regulation after being down a goal. I a very proud of our players and the effort we had tonight. When a match goes to penalty kicks it is a toss up on who advances. However, Lucas Mackanos made a couple of saves and we were able to connect on 11 penalty kicks. I am very happy that we prevailed and advanced to the semifinals."
Charlotte took a 1-0 when Mira Mupier scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season off an assist from George Sheppard at the 34:17 mark of the match.
Cincinnati tied the match at 1-1 when Justin Dobbs scored on a John Liersemann assist at the 51:18 mark of the match.
Charlotte then regained the lead 2-1 when Chris Wargin scored on a shot just outside the goalie box off an assist from Jeff McFarland at the 62:53 mark.
However, Cincinnati tied the match at 2-2 with four minutes left in regulation when Liersemann scored off a Matt Hayden assist.
Both teams had several chances to win the match in both overtime periods but saves by both goalkeepers and several wide shots kept the match tied at 2-2.
In postseason tournament play if the match ends in a tie the teams will go to penalty kicks to determine who advances to the next round. Charlotte advanced to the semifinals on penalty kicks, 11-10. Cincinnati had three chances to advance on the penalty kicks after Charlotte miscues but either their shots went wide or goalkeeper Lucas Mackanos was able to save the shots. Chris Wargin connected on his second penalty kick to give Charlotte the 11-10 lead. Then, Mackanos stopped Shane Curran's penalty shot to end the match.
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Charlotte will face top seed Saint Louis, who had a bye in the first round, in the semifinals, Friday, November 16 at 5:30 pm.
