Sept. 12, 2001

Box Score

GREENSBORO, N.C.- The Charlotte 49ers women's soccer team recorded its first victory of the season on Wednesday night, as they defeated the Spartans of UNC Greensboro, 1-0, in Greensboro. In a match played despite the national tragedy, the 49ers rallied behind a motivational speech by head coach Neil Roberts prior to the game, which connected the national tragedy with the game of soccer.

Redshirt freshman Candace Murphy (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis) recorded the first goal of her career for the 49ers' lone goal, just 2:41 into the match. Murphy, standing just inside the six-yard box, headed in a cross past Spartan keeper Kathryn Clewley from freshman teammate Leslie Canales (Raleigh, N.C./Enloe) . In order to secure the ball and cross it on the far side, Canales had to perform a 360* maneuever to elude a UNCG defender. With the assist, Canales recorded the first point of her 49er career.

Junior goalkeeper Jenn Howell (Marietta, Ga./McEachern) played tremendous in goal for the 49ers in victory. She recorded a season-high tying nine saves on 15 UNCG shots. Perhaps the most spectacular save of the night came as the final buzzer sounded. UNCG forward Kara Mirarchi picked up a loose ball inside the penalty box with two seconds left on the clock in regulation and fired the shot towards the lower right 90. Howell dove across the goal mouth and got both hands on the shot and deflected it wide as the clock hit zero and perserved the 49er victory. The shutout for Howell marked the ninth of her career, which moves her into second place by herself in Charlotte history. She is currently two shutouts away from tying Jessica Brooks (1995-98) on the charts.

With the victory, Charlotte improves to 1-2-1 on the season. UNC Greensboro falls to 3-2-0. After opening the season with four road games, the Niners will open its home season next Tuesday, September 18, versus cross-county rival Davidson at 7 p.m.