Women's Soccer Ties Furman, 1-1
Oct. 4, 2001
CHARLOTTE - In a match that was evenly played for 120 minutes, the Charlotte 49ers women's soccer team battled to a 1-1 draw with regional foe Furman. With the tie, Charlotte extends its current unbeaten streak to seven matches, this season.
Furman got on the board first, but it took nearly 85 minutes to do so. With both teams receiving several chances, both goalies played their hearts out in the match. At 84:35, the Paladins' Kaye Brownlee headed in a ball inside the box past 49er keeper Jenn Howell (Marietta, Ga./McEachern) that was bouncing among several players following a Furman corner kick. The goal by Furman was the first Charlotte has given up since September 18 (vs. Davidson), snapping a shutout streak of 470:02.
Just under a minute later, at 85:28, the 49ers were pressuring the Paladin goal when junior defender Mikel Casey (Greensboro, N.C./Grimsley) found a seam on the right side, sent the ball across the goal mouth, which deflected off Furman defender Allie Park and in the back of the net to tie the score for Charlotte. Casey, a member of the Soccer America National Team of the Week (Sept. 17-23), registered her second goal of the season, which ties a season-high. Her seven points on the season also tie a season-high she set last season. In goal, Howell played all 120 minutes for the 49ers, picking up five saves against the Furman offense.
"We did a good job of pinching them in throughout much of the match," said 49er head coach Neil Roberts. "I thought it was incredible that we were able to counter their goal that quick. By doing so, we proved to ourselves that we are capable of handling tough situations like that. I think we're still on a roll and feel we can use this game as motivation heading into (nationally-ranked) Marquette next Friday. I expect that game to be similiar to this one, in that, it should be a very competitive game that could be decided by one goal."
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Charlotte (6-2-2) will next play on Friday, October 12, at nationally-ranked and preseason Conference USA favorite Marquette. The 49ers will return home on Tuesday, October 16, versus ACC foe NC State at 7:00 p.m. With the tie, Furman's record now stands at 6-3-1.
