The Charlotte women’s soccer team defeated Richmond in a game that went down with a fight Friday evening at Transamerica Field.
“This was always going to be a tricky game because we were coming off of fall break. We talked about not being sluggish after our break,” said Charlotte head coach John Cullen.
Within the first seven minutes of the game, junior Whitney Weinraub had already scored two goals, with assists from senior Hailey Beam and sophomore Oni Bernard.
Weinraub recieved her first assist from Beam that sent her on a breakaway. Her second goal was from a touchline cross from Bernard.
The game consistently stayed on Richmond’s defending side, and the Niners ended the half with eight shots to Richmond’s one.
Charlotte received a scare in the last minute of the first half when the ball slid through two defenders. Beam committed a foul, leading to a Richmond free kick.
The penalty kick was quickly cleared to the side by a 49er defender, giving Richmond a corner kick. The corner kick was cleared, and the whistle blew for the end of the first half. The Niners went into half time leading the Spiders 2-0.
At the start of the second half, Beam scored her eighth goal of the season after she juked out the Richmond goalkeeper in a one-on-one battle in the 52nd minute. Beam’s goal increased the Niners lead to 3-0. She received an assist from a pass by junior Katie Davies.
Freshman Lacey McGowan floated the ball over a line of defenders in an attempted assist to redshirt junior Kirby Stenard, who shot an off-frame but sturdy shot on goal.
Three minutes later, Stenard received the ball again in front of the goal for another close call for Richmond.
When the ball was placed back in to Charlotte’s defending half, a foul on a Richmond player called for another Richmond free kick.
The shot bounced off the post, in which coach Cullen, claimed was “a bit unfortunate” for them.
The final goal for Charlotte came at the 68-minute mark. Jenna McKeon knocked in a shot from 22 yards out, making the final score for Charlotte 4-0.
However, the game on Friday had an unpredictable and feisty ending. Danielle Mayeaux, a Charlotte starting defender, got in a fight with the Richmond goalie, after she attempted a goal. The fight broke out, sending Mayeaux on the ground, but, no one received a red card.
Revved up, the Charlotte bench stood in defense for their team on the field until the game ended. Freshman India Winford attempted one more shot for the team, after dribbling through Richmond players in the center of the field.
The Niners walked away with fifteen shots on goal to Richmond’s four, and a game winning score of 4-0, as they recorded their sixth shutout, a program record.
“It was an overall team effort,” Junior defender Katie Davies said. “Our defense is our backbone.”
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